Relationship between Blood Mercury Level and Risk of Cardiovascular Diseases: Results from the Fourth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES IV) 2008-2009

Abstract Background: Previous researches for adults have demonstrated a substantial role of mercury exposure in the development of overweight and obesity development, but those findings are inconsistent. Although children and adolescents are more susceptible to the toxic effect of mercury compared to adults, the research of overweight and obesity related to mercury exposure in children and adolescent is scarce. This study aimed to investigate the association of blood mercury levels with body mass index (BMI) in Korean children and adolescents.Methods: The cross-sectional data analyzed were obtained from 1327 participants (age: 10-18 years, 672 males and 655 females) who completed the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2010-2013. The adjusted covariates were age, sex, household income, total intake of seafood in the previous 24 hours, and current status of alcohol consumption and smoking. Results: The adjusted geometric mean blood mercury level was 2.19 µg/L and increased significantly in the overweight group and the highest seafood consumption quartile compared with the level in the normal weight group and lowest seafood consumption quartile, respectively (P < 0.001). The adjusted blood mercury levels were significantly positively correlated with BMI in all participants and females (P < 0.05). When stratified by age and sex, all participants and males in the highest blood mercury level quartile were at higher risk of overweight than those in the lowest quartile (odds ratios [95% confidential intervals, CIs]: 1.78 [1.06-2.98], and 2.06 [1.01-4.23], respectively) after adjusting for the covariates (P < 0.05). Receiver operating characteristic analysis of blood mercury levels for predicting overweight revealed that the area under the curve was 0.603 (P < 0.001).Conclusions: Our study suggested a significant association between mercury exposure and the risk of overweight in Korean children and adolescents.

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Association of Blood Mercury Level with the Risk of Depression According to Fish Intake Level in the General Korean Population: Findings from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) 2008–2013

Nutrients ◽

10.3390/nu12010189 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

pp. 189

Author(s):

Kyung Won Kim ◽

Sundara Raj Sreeja ◽

Minji Kwon ◽

Ye Lee Yu ◽

Mi Kyung Kim

Keyword(s):

National Health ◽

Psychiatric Symptoms ◽

Mercury Level ◽

Fish Intake ◽

Nutrition Examination Survey ◽

Multivariate Logistic Regression ◽

Health And Nutrition ◽

Depression Risk ◽

Increased Risk ◽

Blood Mercury

Mercury is a cumulative neurotoxic agent, exposure to high levels of which may increase the risk of psychiatric symptoms. The purpose of this study was to examine the associations between blood mercury and depression risk in Korean adults. We analyzed the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) with 11,754 participants (male: 5834 female: 5920) aged ≥19 years from 2008 to 2013. The associations of blood mercury with risk of depression were estimated using multivariate logistic regression after adjustment for potential confounders. We found a significantly increased risk of depression in the highest quintile for blood mercury (multivariate OR = 2.05; 95% CI = 1.20–3.48; p trend = 0.03) among female, but not male. A stratification analysis by fish intake showed that the association between depression and blood mercury was strengthened (OR = 4.00; 95% CI = 1.51–10.6; p trend = 0.015) among females with the lowest tertile of fish intake. The results of this study suggest that higher levels of blood mercury, especially in cases of lower fish intake, are positively associated with the risk of depression in Korean women.

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Blood mercury level and blood pressure among US women: results from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999–2000

Environmental Research ◽

10.1016/j.envres.2004.05.001 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 97 (2) ◽

pp. 195-200 ◽

Cited By ~ 102

Author(s):

Suma Vupputuri ◽

Matthew P. Longnecker ◽

Julie L. Daniels ◽

Xuguang Guo ◽

Dale P. Sandler

Keyword(s):

Blood Pressure ◽

National Health ◽

Mercury Level ◽

Nutrition Examination Survey ◽

Health And Nutrition ◽

Blood Mercury

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Association of Blood Mercury Levels with the Risks of Overweight and High Waist-to-Height Raito in Children and Adolescents: Data from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

Children ◽

10.3390/children8121087 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 (12) ◽

pp. 1087

Author(s):

Ky Young Cho

Keyword(s):

Children And Adolescents ◽

National Health ◽

Mercury Level ◽

Overweight And Obesity ◽

Mercury Exposure ◽

Dietary Factors ◽

Nutrition Examination Survey ◽

Korean Children ◽

Health And Nutrition ◽

Blood Mercury

A previous study in adults demonstrated the substantial role of mercury exposure in the development of overweight and obesity. Although children and adolescents are more susceptible to the toxic effects of mercury than adults, studies on the association of overweight and obesity with mercury exposure is limited. This study aimed to investigate the association of blood mercury levels with the body mass index (BMI) and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) as obesity indices in Korean children and adolescents. The analyzed cross-sectional data were obtained from 1327 participants (age: 10–18 years; 672 male and 655 female) who completed the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2010–2013. The covariates included sociodemographic factors (age, sex, and household income), dietary factors (fish, shellfish, and seaweed consumption), lifestyle factors (alcohol consumption, smoking status, and exercise), and blood hematocrit levels. The adjusted geometric mean blood mercury level was 2.19 µg/L, and the level of mercury was significantly higher in the overweight (BMI ≥ 85th gender and age-specific percentiles) and high WHtR (cutoff: ≥0.5) groups than in the normal group. In all the participants, the blood mercury levels were significantly positively associated with the BMI and WHtR after adjusting for all covariates (p < 0.05). All the participants in the highest blood mercury level quartile were at a higher risk for overweight and a high WHtR than those in the lowest quartile after adjusting for all covariates (p < 0.05). Our study suggests a significant association between mercury exposure and the risks of overweight and high WHtR in Korean children and adolescents.

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Exposure to acrylamide and the risk of cardiovascular diseases in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2003–2006

Environment International ◽

10.1016/j.envint.2018.04.047 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 117 ◽

pp. 154-163 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Yu Zhang ◽

Mengmeng Huang ◽

Pan Zhuang ◽

Jingjing Jiao ◽

Xinyu Chen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cardiovascular Diseases ◽

National Health ◽

Nutrition Examination Survey ◽

Health And Nutrition

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Association of blood mercury levels with nonmelanoma skin cancer in the U.S.A. using National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data (2003–2016)

British Journal of Dermatology ◽

10.1111/bjd.18797 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 183 (3) ◽

pp. 480-487 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

J. Rhee ◽

T.M. Vance ◽

R. Lim ◽

D.C. Christiani ◽

A.A. Qureshi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Skin Cancer ◽

Survey Data ◽

National Health ◽

Nonmelanoma Skin Cancer ◽

Nutrition Examination Survey ◽

Health And Nutrition ◽

Blood Mercury

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Short Sleep Duration as a Risk Factor of Cardiovascular Disease in Korean Adults: Secondary Analysis of the Fifth Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

Iranian Journal of Public Health ◽

10.18502/ijph.v48i7.2945 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Wonjung NOH ◽

Heakyung MOON

Keyword(s):

Cardiovascular Disease ◽

Cardiovascular Diseases ◽

Sleep Duration ◽

National Health ◽

Large Scale ◽

Nutrition Examination Survey ◽

Short Sleep Duration ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Korean Adults ◽

Health And Nutrition

Background: Sleep durations shorter or longer than 7 h are associated with cardiovascular diseases. We aimed to investigate the association among sleep duration, risk factors of hypertension, and cardiovascular disease in South Korea using data from a recent large-scale survey. Methods: Data produced by the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) were subjected to multivariate logistic analysis. This cross-sectional, nationally representative survey was conducted from Jan 1 to Dec 31, 2011, by the Korean Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Overall, 6,466 participated. Data were analyzed using STATA version 13.0 (STATA Corp LP). Results: The participants’ socioeconomic, physical, and lifestyle factors were statistically different between the two age groups (<65 yr and ≥65 yr). Shorter sleep durations were associated with hypertension in individuals younger than 65 yr of age. On the other hand, in participants aged ≥65 yr, both shorter and longer sleep durations were associated with hypertension, while shorter sleep durations were associated with cardiovascular diseases. Conclusion: Unusual sleep durations are associated with an increased prevalence of cardiovascular disease among Korean adults. The effect of sleep duration appears to be more significant in individuals with hypertension, suggesting that the management of hypertension should be prioritized in patients older than 65 year.

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