Toenail mercury and dietary fish consumption

Area of Science:

• Environmental Health
• Toxicology
• Human Biomonitoring

Background:

• New England faces high mercury deposition, a pollutant with adverse health effects.
• Mercury is an environmental contaminant of significant public health concern.

Purpose of the Study:

• To measure mercury levels in toenails of New Hampshire residents.
• To identify dietary factors, specifically fish consumption, associated with mercury levels.

Main Methods:

• Collected toenail samples from 27 control participants in a 1994-95 New Hampshire health study.
• Assessed dietary intake using a validated food frequency questionnaire focusing on fish and shellfish consumption.
• Analyzed mercury concentrations in toenails and correlated them with dietary data.

Main Results:

• Mean toenail mercury concentration was 0.27 mcg/g.
• Toenail mercury levels significantly correlated with average weekly finfish and shellfish consumption (Spearman r=0.48, P=0.012).
• Multivariate analysis confirmed fish and shellfish intake as the primary predictor of toenail mercury.

Conclusions:

• Dietary intake, particularly fish and shellfish consumption, is a major determinant of mercury body burden in this New Hampshire population.
• Toenail mercury analysis serves as a useful biomarker for assessing dietary mercury exposure.
• Findings underscore the importance of monitoring and managing dietary mercury exposure in regions with high environmental mercury levels.