Decline in Fish Consumption Among Pregnant Women After a National Mercury Advisory

The Scientific Paper:

Emily Oken, Ken. P Kleinman, Wendy E. Berland, Steven R. Simon, Janet W. Rich-Edwards, and Matthew W. Gillman. Obstetrics & Gynecology. Vol. 102, No. 2. pp. 346-351. 2003.

Review This Scientific Paper’s Abstract:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db
=PubMed&list_uids=12907111&dopt=Citation

The Purpose of this Study:

• To determine if pregnant women changed their fish eating habits after the dissemination of the January, 2001 Food and Drug Administration (FDA) methylmercury advisory.
• The FDA January, 2001 methylmercury advisory recommends that pregnant women limit consumption of certain fish because of concerns about methylmercury contamination.
• These scientists attempted to estimate changes in eating fish by pregnant women after the FDA released its methylmercury advisory.

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

• This peer-reviewed, scientific paper was published in 2003.
• This study examined the diets of 2,235 pregnant women who completed at least one dietary questionnaire while visiting obstetric offices in eastern Massachusetts. The women were surveyed before the FDA methylmercury advisory from April 1999 through December 2000 - and after the FDA methylmercury advisory from April 2001 through February 2002. Each woman was asked to complete a food frequency questionnaire at each trimester of pregnancy.
• The scientists primarily measured the consumption of all fish - and also of four fish types: 1) canned tuna; 2) dark meat fish; 3) shellfish; and 4) white meat fish.
• The scientists found less consumption of dark meat fish, canned tuna, and white meat fish after the FDA methylmercury advisory.
• These decreases resulted in a reduction in total fish consumption of approximately 1.4 servings per month from December 2000 to April 2001, with ongoing declines through the end of this study.
• The scientists found no differences in the amount of shellfish eaten.
• The same types of fish that concentrate methylmercury in their flesh also have long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids in their flesh. Long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids are believed to be beneficial to pregnant women and their infants.
• The January 2001 FDA methylmercury advisory recommends that pregnant women not eat certain types of fish (i.e., predator fish) that are more likely to contain high levels of methylmercury. This includes the dark meat fish such as mackerel and swordfish. The FDA also advises limiting consumption of shellfish, canned tuna, and smaller ocean fish to no more than two to three servings each week.

A Bottom Line:
These scientists found that pregnant women ate less fish - including tuna, dark meat fish, and white meat fish - after the FDA released its national methylmercury advisory.

Eating these particular fish may give nutritional benefits to both the mother and her infant. The public health implications of eating less fish remained unclear in 2003.

Find This Scientific Paper for Your Review:
Decline in Fish Consumption Among Pregnant Women After a National Mercury Advisory. Obstetrics & Gynecology. Vol. 102, No. 2. pp. 346-351. 2003.