Postnatal Exposure to Methyl Mercury from Fish Consumption: a Review and New Data from the Seychelles Child Development Study

Overview

Journal Neurotoxicology

Specialties Environmental Health
Neurology
Toxicology

Date 2009 May 16

PMID 19442817

Citations 47

Authors

Gary J Myers

Sally W Thurston

Alexander T Pearson

Philip W Davidson

Christopher Cox

Conrad F Shamlaye

Elsa Cernichiari

Thomas W Clarkson

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background: Fish is an important source of nutrition worldwide. Fish contain both the neurotoxin methyl mercury (MeHg) and nutrients important for brain development. The developing brain appears to be most sensitive to MeHg toxicity and mothers who consume fish during pregnancy expose their fetus prenatally. Although brain development is most dramatic during fetal life, it continues for years postnatally and additional exposure can occur when a mother breast feeds or the child consumes fish. This raises the possibility that MeHg might influence brain development after birth and thus adversely affect children's developmental outcomes. We reviewed postnatal MeHg exposure and the associations that have been published to determine the issues associated with it and then carried out a series of analyses involving alternative metrics of postnatal MeHg exposure in the Seychelles Child Development Study (SCDS) Main Cohort.

Methods: The SCDS is a prospective longitudinal evaluation of prenatal MeHg exposure from fish consumption. The Main Cohort includes 779 subjects on whom recent postnatal exposure data were collected at the 6-, 19-, 29-, 66-, and 107-month evaluations. We examined the association of recent postnatal MeHg exposure with multiple 66- and 107-month outcomes and then used three types of alternative postnatal exposure metrics to examine their association with the children's intelligence quotient (IQ) at 107 months of age.

Results: Recent postnatal exposure at 107 months of age was adversely associated with four endpoints, three in females only. One alternative postnatal metric was beneficially associated with 9-year IQ in males only.

Conclusions: We found several associations between postnatal MeHg biomarkers and children's developmental endpoints. However, as has been the case with prenatal MeHg exposure in the SCDS Main Cohort study, no consistent pattern of associations emerged to support a causal relationship.

Citing Articles

Postnatal methylmercury exposure and neurodevelopmental outcomes at 7 years of age in the Seychelles Child Development Study Nutrition Cohort 2.

Klus J, Thurston S, Myers G, Watson G, Rand M, Love T Neurotoxicology. 2023; 99:115-119.

PMID: 37832849 PMC: 10842381. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuro.2023.10.004.

Relationship of mercury and selenium in ocean fish frequently consumed in the Seychelles: A comparison to levels in ocean fish consumed in the US.

Zareba G, Harrington D, Scrimale T, Lesperance A, Watson G, van Wijngaarden E Neurotoxicology. 2023; 99:34-42.

PMID: 37678724 PMC: 10873038. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuro.2023.09.001.

Reference Values on Children's Hair for 28 Elements (Heavy Metals and Essential Elements) Based on a Pilot Study in a Representative Non-Contaminated Local Area.

Ruiz R, Estevan C, Estevez J, Alcaide C, Sogorb M, Vilanova E Int J Mol Sci. 2023; 24(9).

PMID: 37175834 PMC: 10179086. DOI: 10.3390/ijms24098127.

Prenatal mercury exposure, fish intake and child emotional behavioural regulation in the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study.

Vejrup K, Brantsaeter A, Meltzer H, Mohebbi M, Knutsen H, Alexander J BMJ Nutr Prev Health. 2023; 5(2):313-320.

PMID: 36619316 PMC: 9813626. DOI: 10.1136/bmjnph-2021-000412.

Health Risk Assessment Attributed to Consumption of Fish Contaminated with Mercury in the Rio Branco Basin, Roraima, Amazon, Brazil.

Vasconcellos A, Ferreira S, de Sousa C, de Oliveira M, de Oliveira Lima M, Basta P Toxics. 2022; 10(9).

PMID: 36136481 PMC: 9504189. DOI: 10.3390/toxics10090516.

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