Mercury levels in pregnant women and newborns in Uruguay, 2016-2018. Progress report

• Main Authors: Monica Méndez, Darío Alberto Pose Román, Amalia Laborde, Alejandro Noria, Juan Gil, Cristina Lindner
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Sociedad Española de Sanidad Ambiental 2020-06-01
• Series: Revista de Salud Ambiental
• Subjects: mercurio; embarazadas; recién nacidos; nivel medio
• Online Access: https://ojs.diffundit.com/index.php/rsa/article/view/1042

Mercury is a global environmental pollutant and a public health problem. Contaminated fish and dental amalgams are the main sources of exposure reported in population studies. There are no population values of exposure in Uruguay. The objectives of this study are to determine the levels of mercury in two vulnerable populations – the mean mercury level in blood, urine and hair of pregnant women (PW) and in the umbilical cord blood (UCB) of newborns (NBs) – and to relate these values to sources of exposure and compare them with international values. The total mercury level in 217 samples of PW and 217 samples of NBs was determined by atomic absorption. The geometric mean in the UCB of NBs was 1.42 μg/l, whereas it was 1.03 μg/l in blood, 0.08 μg/g in hair and 0.82 μg/l in urine of PW. The average fish consumption was once a week, and the average amount of amalgams was one. Mercury levels in hair differed significantly between fish consumers (57 %) and non-consumers: 0.16 μg/g vs 0.09 μg/g (p=0.009). Mercury values were above the reference values in 4 PW and in the UCB of 4 NBs. No significant differences were found in the blood and urine mercury levels of PW and in the UCB of NBs in relation to the presence or absence of amalgams or fish consumption. The average levels obtained were below those for the populations of Europe, Canada, and the United States and below the EPA’s and the WHO’s reference values.