Urinary Mercury Levels and Predictors of Exposure among a Group of Italian Children

Bibliographic Data

ID15511689
AuthorsMaria Luisa Astolfi (0000-0001-9633-8484, Sapienza University of Rome, corresponding author), Matteo Vitali (0000-0002-1001-6343, Sapienza University of Rome), Elisabetta Marconi (Sapienza University of Rome), Stefano Martellucci (0000-0002-3952-3162, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca), Vincenzo Mattei (0000-0003-4677-088X, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca), Silvia Canepari (0000-0002-4360-0140, Sapienza University of Rome), Carmela Protano (0000-0001-7668-5809, Sapienza University of Rome)
Year2020
Volume17
Issue24
Pages9225-9225
Publication date2020-12-10
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1661-7827 • E-ISSN: 1660-4601
PublisherMultidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (PUBLISHER • CH)
DOI10.3390/ijerph17249225
PMID33321748
OpenAlexW3111236062
LanguageEN
References cited55

Urinary mercury (Hg) levels are suitable to assess long-term exposure to both elemental and inorganic Hg. In this study, the urinary Hg levels of 250 children (aged 6-11 years) from three areas with different anthropogenic impacts in the Rieti province, central Italy, were assessed. The Hg concentrations were in the range of 0.04-2.18 μg L -1 with a geometric mean equal to 0.18 μg L -1 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.17-0.20 μg L -1 ] or 0.21 μg g -1 creatinine (95% CI, 0.19-0.23 μg g -1 creatinine), and a reference value calculated as 95th percentile of 0.53 μg L -1 (95% CI, 0.44-0.73 μg L -1 ) or 0.55 μg g -1 creatinine (95% CI, 0.50-0.83 μg g -1 creatinine). In all cases, urinary Hg data were below the HBM-I values (7 μg L -1 or 5 μg g -1 creatinine) established for urine, while the 95th percentile was above the German Human Biomonitoring Commission's RV95 (0.4 μg L -1 ) set for children without amalgam fillings. A significant correlation ( p < 0.05) was found between creatinine-corrected results and residence area, with higher urinary Hg levels in children living in the industrial area. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that creatinine was the main predictor of urinary Hg

Animal science · Biology · Biomonitoring · Confidence interval · Creatinine · Geometric mean · Mercury (programming language · Percentile · Statistics · Urinary system · Urine · Air Quality and Health Impacts · Chemistry · Heavy Metal Exposure and Toxicity · Mathematics · Medicine · Mercury impact and mitigation studies · Environmental Chemistry · Internal Medicine · Urology

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