Blood and hair mercury concentrations among Cree First Nations of Eeyou Istchee (Quebec, Canada): time trends, prenatal exposure and links to local fish consumption.

ABSTRACT: To describe exposure to methylmercury among Cree, focusing on women of childbearing age, we used data from 2 studies. Multiple regression was employed to examine associations between blood and hair mercury concentrations and consumption of locally harvested fish. Approximately 9.9% of non-pregnant women aged 15-44 y and 3.9% of pregnant women required follow-up according to Health Canada's blood mercury guidance value of 40 nmol/L. 8% of hair mercury observations in the non-pregnant women and 2.5% among pregnant women exceeded the equivalent threshold of 10 nmol/g. The geometric mean blood mercury concentration was 12.7 nmol/L in 1,429 persons aged 8 and over, and 17.7 nmol/L in adults aged 18 and older. The proportion of hair mercury concentrations greater than 12.5 nmol/g decreased in al

SUBMITTER: Ripley S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5965033 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature