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Neuropsychological Effects of Mercury Exposure in Children and Adolescents of the Amazon Region, Brazil.
- Source :
-
Neurotoxicology [Neurotoxicology] 2020 Jul; Vol. 79, pp. 48-57. Date of Electronic Publication: 2020 Apr 23. - Publication Year :
- 2020
-
Abstract
- Background: Studies with children exposed to methylmercury (MeHg) through fish consumption in the Brazilian Amazon region report that the high levels of hair Hg are associated with significant decreases in intelligence, memory, attention, and visuospatial processing.<br />Objective: To investigate the relationship between mercury exposure and neuropsychological functions in riverside communities of the Brazilian Amazon.<br />Method: 263 participants aged 6 to 14 years old were assessed, from resettlement regions, near the Madeira river, Rondônia, Brazil. To assess the neuropsychological functions we used the following instruments: intelligence (WASI), working memory (Corsi Block-Tapping Task and Digit Span), verbal fluency (Word Generation - NEPSY II), inhibitory control (Inhibition Errors - NEPSY II), shifting (Trail Making Test) and manual motor dexterity (Grooved PegBoard Test). Socioeconomic status was obtained through household surveys. Total Hg levels were quantified hair samples (Total HgH) collected from the occipital region of the scalp and analyzed by Cold Vapor Atomic Absorption Spectrometry.<br />Results: The group in the upper quartile of Total HgH levels presented lower scores on the tasks that assessed estimated IQ, visuospatial working memory, semantic knowledge and phonological verbal fluency, when compared to the group in the lower quartile level. A regression analysis controlled for age, sex, and maternal education showed that for each increase of 10 μg/g of Total HgH, there was a decrease around half standard deviation in Verbal IQ, estimated IQ scores, semantic knowledge, phonological verbal fluency and for verbal and visuospatial working memory.<br />Conclusions: High concentrations of Total Hg in hair were associated with a lower performance in neuropsychological functions tests. The results show that environmental exposure to Hg is associated to children and adolescents' lower neuropsychological performance in the riverine and resettled areas of the Brazilian Amazon region.<br />Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.<br /> (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)
- Subjects :
- Adolescent
Age Factors
Brazil
Child
Cross-Sectional Studies
Environmental Exposure adverse effects
Female
Food Contamination
Humans
Male
Mercury analysis
Mercury Poisoning, Nervous System diagnosis
Mercury Poisoning, Nervous System physiopathology
Neuropsychological Tests
Risk Assessment
Risk Factors
Seafood adverse effects
Seafood analysis
Water Pollutants, Chemical analysis
Adolescent Behavior drug effects
Adolescent Development drug effects
Child Behavior drug effects
Child Development drug effects
Hair chemistry
Mercury adverse effects
Mercury Poisoning, Nervous System etiology
Water Pollutants, Chemical adverse effects
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 1872-9711
- Volume :
- 79
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- Neurotoxicology
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 32335201
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuro.2020.04.004