Prenatal
low-level methyl mercury exposure and child development in an Italian
coastal area
(pp 149-154)
Fabio
Barbone1, MD; Francesca Valent1, MD; Federica Pisa1,
MD; Fulvio Daris2, PhD; Vesna Fajon3, Dip Ing;
Darija Gibicar3, MSc; Martina Logar3, PhD; Milena
Horvat3, PhD.
Division
of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Department of Experimental and Clinical
Pathology and Medicine (DPMSC), University and University Hospital of
Udine, Italy1; Environmental Protection Agency (ARPA),
Friuli-Venezia Giulia Region, Italy2; Department of
Environmental Sciences, Jozef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia3.
Abstract
Environmental
studies have identified mercury pollution in the Northern Adriatic Sea
(Italy). High level methyl mercury exposure is a known cause of
neurodevelopmental disorders. However, the exposure-effect relation at
levels <10 ppm is controversial. To assess the possible health effects
of prenatal methyl mercury exposure through maternal fish consumption, we
conducted an epidemiologic cohort study in a mercury polluted area of the
Adriatic Sea. We identified all the children born between 1999 and 2001 to
women who were resident in two coastal fishing towns. A comparison group
was identified inland. A total of 243 children were enrolled. Their
mothers were interviewed approximately two months after delivery to
determine a variety of covariates and the type, quantity and origin of
fish consumed during pregnancy. Total mercury (THg) and methyl mercury (MeHg)
were assessed in maternal hair and breast milk and in the child’s hair.
The children were evaluated after age 18 months with a physical
examination and the Denver Developmental Screening Test II (DDST II).
Statistical analyses matched by residential area are not presented since
they were not associated with fresh fish consumption, THg or MeHg exposure
level or neurodevelopmental outcomes. To date 52 children have been
evaluated. After adjustment for
a number of potential confounders, preliminary results indicate that the
fine motor adaptive score on the Denver Developmental test is inversely
related to maternal hair THg. These pilot findings are suggestive of an
association between children’s fine motor skills and their prenatal
methyl mercury exposure from maternal fish consumption. However, only a
small number of the cohort have been tested and more extensive testing
with more sensitive and specific tests is needed to determine if these
findings persist.
Key
words cohort study, Denver
Development Screening Test, mercury, methyl mercury, fish consumption,
diet, neurology, child, maternal exposure
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