Blood Organic Mercury and Dietary Mercury Intake: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1999 and 2000

The Scientific Paper:

Kathryn R. Mahaffey, Robert P. Clickner, and Catherine C. Bodurow. Environmental Health Perspective (EHP). Vol. 112. pp 562–570. 2004.

Review This Scientific Paper’s Abstract:
http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/docs/2003/6587/abstract.html

The Purpose of this Study:
To determine if U.S. infants are being exposed to damaging levels of methylmercury from the fish and/or seafood their mothers eat.

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

• This peer-reviewed, scientific paper was published in 2004.
• These scientists studied the methylmercury levels in the blood of 1,709 women who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) in 1999 and 2000. The methylmercury levels ranged from nondetectable to high.
• The reported methylmercury levels in the blood of these women come from the methylmercury in the fish and shellfish they ate.
• Each woman reported the foods each had eaten in 24 hours and also in 30 days. These women also told the scientists what types of fish and shellfish each had eaten during the specific 24 hours and the specific 30 days.
• Methylmercury blood levels were lowest among Mexican American women — and highest among women who listed themselves as “other racial/ethnic”. These include Asians, Native Americans, and Pacific Islanders.
• Methylmercury blood levels were about 1.5 times higher among women 30–49 years old than among women 16–29 years old.
• Methylmercury blood levels were 7 times higher among women who ate nine or more fish and/or shellfish meals in the past 30 days than among women who ate no fish and/or shellfish in the same 30 days.

A Bottom Line:
Based on the methylmercury level distribution in these 1,709 women who participated in the 1999-2000 NHANES scientific study — plus the number of children born in the United States in 2000 — these scientists conclude that more than 300,000 U.S. infants born in 2000 may have been exposed in the womb to methylmercury levels believed to cause nervous and/or mental development damage in unborn children.

Find This Scientific Paper for Your Review:
Blood Organic Mercury and Dietary Mercury Intake: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1999 and 2000. Environmental Health Perspective (EHP). Vol. 112. pp 562–570. 2004.