Evidence map›Paper›PMID 20716509›Full record

ArticleEnvironmental health perspectives2010

Selenium and mercury in the Brazilian Amazon: opposing influences on age-related cataracts.

Mélanie Lemire, Myriam Fillion, Benoît Frenette, Annie Mayer, Aline Philibert, Carlos José Sousa Passos, Jean Rémy Davée Guimarães, Fernando Júnior Barbosa, Donna Mergler

Open access · diamondAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Environmental health perspectives, 2010. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 23 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
23citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
7.8field-weighted citation impact, top 2% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

23 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 84 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Levels of Trace Elements in the Lens, Aqueous Humour, and Plasma of Cataractous Patients-A Narrative Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022
    Pooled it
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  4. Recent Progress in Selenium Nanomedicines for Ocular Diseases.International journal of nanomedicine · 2026
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  9. Mercury-induced aggregation of human lens γ-crystallins reveals a potential role in cataract disease.Journal of biological inorganic chemistry : JBIC : a publication of the Society of Biological Inorganic Chemistry · 2018
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  13. Selenium and mercury molar ratios in commercial fish from New Jersey and Illinois: variation within species and relevance to risk communication.Food and chemical toxicology : an international journal published for the British Industrial Biological Research Association · 2013
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.

Mélanie LemireCentre de recherche interdisciplinaire sur la biologie, la santé, la société et l'environnement, Université du Ouébec a Montréal, Montréal, Canada. melanie.lemire@crchuq.ulaval.ca
Myriam Fillion
Benoît Frenette
Annie Mayer
Aline Philibert
Carlos José Sousa Passos
Jean Rémy Davée Guimarães
Fernando Júnior Barbosa
Donna Mergler
Université du Québec à Montréal · CAUniversité de Montréal · CAUniversidade de Brasília · BRUniversidade de São Paulo · BRUniversidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro · BR

Funding

Canadian Institutes of Health Research
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAge-related cataracts (ARCs) are an important cause of blindness in developing countries. Although antioxidants may be part of the body's defense to prevent ARC, environmental contaminants may contribute to cataractogenesis. In fish-eating populations of the lower Tapajós region, elevated exposure to mercury (Hg) has been reported, and blood levels of selenium (Se) range from normal to very high (> 1,000 microg/L).

objectivesWe examined ARCs in relation to these elements among adults (> or = 40 years of age) from 12 riverside communities.

methodsParticipants (n = 211) provided blood samples and underwent an extensive ocular examination. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry was used to assess Hg and Se in blood and plasma.

resultsOne-third (n = 69; 32.7%) of the participants had ARC. Lower plasma Se (P-Se; < 25th percentile, 110 microg/L) and higher blood Hg (B-Hg; > or = 25th percentile, 25 microg/L) were associated with a higher prevalence odds ratio (POR) of ARC [adjusted POR (95% confidence interval), 2.69 (1.11-6.56) and 4.45 (1.43-13.83), respectively]. Among participants with high P-Se, we observed a positive but nonsignificant association with high B-Hg exposure, whereas among those with low B-Hg, we observed no association for P-Se. However, compared with the optimum situation (high P-Se, low B-Hg), the POR for those with low P-Se and high B-Hg was 16.4 (3.0-87.9). This finding suggests a synergistic effect.

conclusionOur results suggest that persons in this population with elevated Hg, the cataractogenic effects of Hg may be offset by Se. Because of the relatively small sample size and possible confounding by other dietary nutrients, additional studies with sufficient power to assess multiple nutrient and toxic interactions are required to confirm these findings.

Indexed as

AdultAgedAged, 80 and overAge FactorsAntioxidantsBrazilCataractDietEnvironmental ExposureFemaleHumansLogistic ModelsMaleMethylmercury CompoundsMiddle AgedMultivariate AnalysisAntioxidantsMethylmercury CompoundsSeleniumWater Pollutants, Chemical

Identifiers

PMID20716509
PMCPMC2974697
OpenAlexW2017409814

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.