Urinary mercury level in Japanese school children: influence of dental amalgam fillings and fish eating habits

• Published in: The Science of the total environment 1993-08, Vol.136 (3), p.213-227
• Main Authors: Suzuki, Tsuguyoshi, Hongo, Tetsuro, Abe, Taku, Matsuo, Naoto, Inoue, Naohiko
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Age Factors; Animals; Biological and medical sciences; Child; Child, Preschool; Creatinine - urine; Dental Amalgam; dental amalgam fillings; Environmental pollutants toxicology; Feeding Behavior; Female; fish eating habits; Fishes; General aspects; Humans; Japan; Male; Medical sciences; Mercury - urine; multiple regression analysis; Regression Analysis; school children; Toxicology; urinary mercury
• ISSN: 0048-9697; 1879-1026
• DOI: 10.1016/0048-9697(93)90310-3

The influence of dental amalgam fillings and fish eating frequency on the urinary mercury (Hg) level was evaluated in 1642 children (ages: 3–18) living in Tokyo. Geometric mean of the urinary Hg level was 1.9 μg Hg/l and 1.9 μg Hg/g creatinine (Cr) for boys and 2.1 μg Hg/l and 2.0 μ Hg/g Cr for girls. Multiple regression analysis was conducted using: (1) urinary Cr concentration (only in the case of urinary Hg expressed as μg Hg/l); (2) age; (3) gender; (4) number of dental amalgam fillings; and (5) fish eating frequency as independent variables. As a result, all the variables examined were significant and the explanatory powers (square of multiple correlation coefficient) of these variables were 17 or 7% for urinary Hg expressed as μg Hg/l or μg Hg/g Cr, respectively. Number of dental amalgam fillings or fish eating frequency explained only up to 1.5% of the total variance of urinary Hg. Contribution of Cr concentration, age and gender to urinary Hg level is also discussed.