Environmental and genetic predictors of whole blood mercury and selenium concentrations in pregnant women in a UK birth cohort.

ABSTRACT: There is evidence that tissue concentrations of mercury (Hg) and selenium (Se) are predicted by numerous dietary, sociodemographic, environmental, and genetic factors. This study aimed to estimate the relative importance of predictors of Hg and Se concentrations in blood samples taken from pregnant women. The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) in the UK measured whole blood Hg and Se concentrations in 3,972 pregnant women. We identified 30 potential predictors of Hg and 24 of Se, which were evaluated using cross-validated random forests to identify the optimal models for predictive power. The relative importance of individual variables was estimated by averaging the added-R² per predictor. Linkage disequilibrium score regression was used to estimate the var

SUBMITTER: Dack K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10951965 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature