Association Between Prenatal Exposure to Methylmercury and Developmental Outcomes in Seychellois Children: Effect Modification by Social and Environmental Factors

The Scientific Paper:

Philip W. Davidson; Gary J. Myers; Conrad Shamlaye; Christopher Cox; Ping Gao; Catherine Axtell; Danielle Morris; Jean Sloane-Reeves; Elsa Cernichiari; Anna Choi; Donna Palumbo; and Thomas W. Clarkson. Neurotoxicology. Vol. 20, No. 5. pp. 833-842. 1999.

Review This Scientific Paper’s Abstract:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=
PubMed&list_uids=10591519&dopt=Abstract

The Purpose of this Study:
To study if social and/or environmental influences had any effect(s) on methylmercury exposure and methylmercury’s possible effect(s) on a child’s developing brain and/or nervous system. The authors did this by conducting a second analysis of the original study data.

Some Background, Methods, Results, Caveats, and Other Select Points:

• This peer-reviewed, scientific paper was published in 1999.
• This study investigated whether children—exposed in the womb to low levels of the contaminant methylmercury—suffered any detectable, harmful effect(s) on their developing brains and/or nervous systems due to their mothers eating fish during pregnancy.
• The first time these scientists analyzed this study data, they found no relationship(s) between methylmercury exposure in the womb on the developing brains and/or nervous systems of these children for the first 66 months of the children’s lives. The scientists decided to study the data a second time to see what else they might learn.
• The scientists analyzed for methylmercury exposure to the fish-eating mother by determining the amount of methylmercury deposited in the mother’s hair (that grew during her pregnancy) as a result of recently consuming certain kinds of fish.

A Bottom Line:
These scientists found no effect(s) caused by where and by whom the child is raised on the child’s methylmercury exposure and the methylmercury’s possible effect(s) on the child’s developing brain and/or nervous system.

Find This Scientific Paper for Your Review:
Association Between Prenatal Exposure to Methylmercury and Developmental Outcomes in Seychellois Children: Effect Modification by Social and Environmental Factors. Neurotoxicology. Vol. 20, No. 5. pp. 833-842. 1999.