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Multicenter Study
. 2014 Jul:132:407-12.
doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2014.04.030. Epub 2014 May 21.

Effect of hemoglobin adjustment on the precision of mercury concentrations in maternal and cord blood

Byung-Mi Kim  1 , Anna L Choi  2 , Eun-Hee Ha  3 , Lise Pedersen  4 , Flemming Nielsen  5 , Pal Weihe  6 , Yun-Chul Hong  7 , Esben Budtz-Jørgensen  8 , Philippe Grandjean  9
Affiliations
Multicenter Study

Effect of hemoglobin adjustment on the precision of mercury concentrations in maternal and cord blood

Byung-Mi Kim et al. Environ Res. 2014 Jul.

Erratum in

Abstract

The cord-blood mercury concentration is usually considered the best biomarker in regard to developmental methylmercury neurotoxicity. However, the mercury concentration may be affected by the binding of methylmercury to hemoglobin and perhaps also selenium. As cord-blood mercury analyses appear to be less precise than suggested by laboratory quality data, we studied the interrelationships of mercury concentrations with hemoglobin in paired maternal and cord blood samples from a Faroese birth cohort (N=514) and the Mothers and Children's Environmental Health study in Korea (n=797). Linear regression and structural equation model (SEM) analyses were used to ascertain interrelationships between the exposure biomarkers and the possible impact of hemoglobin as well as selenium. Both methods showed a significant dependence of the cord-blood concentration on hemoglobin, also after adjustment for other exposure biomarkers. In the SEM, the cord blood measurement was a less imprecise indicator of the latent methylmercury exposure variable than other exposure biomarkers available, and the maternal hair concentration had the largest imprecision. Adjustment of mercury concentrations both in maternal and cord blood for hemoglobin improved their precision, while no significant effect of the selenium concentration in maternal blood was found. Adjustment of blood-mercury concentrations for hemoglobin is therefore recommended.

Keywords: Blood analysis; Hemoglobin; Methylmercury; Prenatal exposure; Selenium.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Correlations between logarithmic transformations of biomarkers in the Faroese birth cohort. aMB-Hg, Hg in maternal blood; MH-Hg, Hg in maternal hair; Hg, latent variable; CB-Hg, MB-Se, Selenium in maternal blood; MB-Hb, Hemoglobin in maternal blood; Hg in cord blood; CB-Hb, hemoglobin in cord blood –
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Structural equation model of latent methylmercury exposure (Hg), as indicated by mercury concentrations in maternal blood (MB-Hg), maternal hair (MH-Hg), and cord blood (CB-Hg), all of which are log transformed.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Extended structural equation model that allows the hemoglobin concentrations in maternal and cord blood to affect the mercury concentrations in the same media while also allowing the maternal selenium concentration to affect the blood-mercury concentrations.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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