| Hair Mercury Levels in U.S. Children and Women of Childbearing Age: Reference Range Data from NHANES 1999-2000 Margaret A. McDowell,1 Charles F. Dillon,1 John Osterloh,2 P. Michael Bolger,3 Edo Pellizzari,4 Reshan Fernando,4 Ruben Montes de Oca,5 Susan E. Schober,1 Thomas Sinks,2 Robert L. Jones,2 and Kathryn R. Mahaffey6 1National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Hyattsville, MD, USA; 2National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA; 3Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, College Park, Maryland, USA; 4Research Triangle Institute, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA; 5The Orkand Corporation, Falls Church, Virginia, USA; 6The Office of Science Coordination and Policy, Office of Prevention, Pesticides, and Toxic Substances, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, USA Abstract
Exposure to methyl mercury, a risk factor for neurodevelopmental toxicity, was assessed in U.S. children 1-5 years of age (n = 838) and women 16-49 years of age (n = 1,726) using hair mercury analysis during the 1999-2000 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) . The data are nationally representative and are based on analysis of cross-sectional data for the noninstitutionalized, U.S. household population. The survey consisted of interviews conducted in participants' homes and standardized health examinations conducted in mobile examination centers. Distributions of total hair mercury levels expressed as micrograms per gram hair Hg and the association of hair Hg levels with sociodemographic characteristics and fish consumption are reported. Geometric mean (standard error of the geometric mean) hair mercury was 0.12 µg/g (0.01 µg/g) in children, and 0.20 µg/g (0.02 µg/g) in women. Among frequent fish consumers, geometric mean hair mercury levels were 3-fold higher for women (0.38 vs. 0.11 µg/g) and 2-fold higher for children (0.16 vs. 0.08 µg/g) compared with nonconsumers. The NHANES 1999-2000 data provide population-based data on hair mercury concentrations for women and children in the United States. Hair mercury levels were associated with age and fish consumption frequency. Key words: blood, child, diet, female, hair, mercury, NHANES, preschool. Environ Health Perspect 112:1165-1171 (2004) . doi:10.1289/ehp.7046 available via http://dx.doi.org/ [Online 27 May 2004]
Address all correspondence to M.A. McDowell, National Center for Health Statistics, 3311 Toledo Rd., Room 4335, Hyattsville, MD 20782 USA. Telephone: (301) 458-4368. Fax: (301) 458-4028. E-mail: MMcDowell@cdc.gov References to sites of non-CDC organizations on the Internet are provided as a service to readers and do not constitute or imply endorsement of these organizations or their programs by the CDC or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The CDC is not responsible for the content of pages found at these sites. The authors declare they have no competing financial interests. Received 19 February 2004 ; accepted 27 May 2004.
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