ArticleNeurotoxicology and teratology
Negative confounding by essential fatty acids in methylmercury neurotoxicity associations.
Article in Neurotoxicology and teratology. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 26 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
26 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 66 citations in OpenAlex.
- Relationship of prenatal methylmercury exposure and language/verbal function: a meta-analysis.Environmental health : a global access science source · 2025Pooled it
- Statement on the findings presented in the Toxicological Profile for Mercury issued by the US ATSDR.EFSA journal. European Food Safety Authority · 2026Article
- A novel approach to assessing the joint effects of mercury and fish consumption on neurodevelopment in the New Bedford Cohort.American journal of epidemiology · 2025Article
- Health effects associated with measured contaminants in the Arctic: short communication.International journal of circumpolar health · 2024Article
- Element Concentrations and Histopathology of Liver and Kidney in West Greenland Ringed Seals (Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2024Article
- The Need for an Alternative Health Claim Process for Foods Based on Both Nutrient and Contaminant Profiles.Current developments in nutrition · 2024Article
- Health benefits of bluefin tuna consumption: (Frontiers in nutrition · 2024Review
- Maternal DHA intake in mice increased DHA metabolites in the pup brain and ameliorated MeHg-induced behavioral disorder.Journal of lipid research · 2023Article
- Prenatal low-dose methylmercury exposure causes premature neuronal differentiation and autism-like behaviors in a rodent model.iScience · 2023Article
- Characterizing the Low-Dose Effects of Methylmercury on the Early Stages of Embryo Development Using Cultured Human Embryonic Stem Cells.Environmental health perspectives · 2021Article
- DNA methyltransferase- and histone deacetylase-mediated epigenetic alterations induced by low-level methylmercury exposure disrupt neuronal development.Archives of toxicology · 2021Article
- DHA and Its Metabolites Have a Protective Role against Methylmercury-Induced Neurotoxicity in Mouse Primary Neuron and SH-SY5Y Cells.International journal of molecular sciences · 2021Article
- Neurotoxicity of mercury: an old issue with contemporary significance.Advances in neurotoxicology · 2021Article
- Methylmercury Exposure and Developmental Outcomes in Tohoku Study of Child Development at 18 Months of Age.Toxics · 2018Article
- The Putative Role of Environmental Mercury in the Pathogenesis and Pathophysiology of Autism Spectrum Disorders and Subtypes.Molecular neurobiology · 2018Review
- Modulators of mercury risk to wildlife and humans in the context of rapid global change.Ambio · 2018Article
- Human health impacts of exposure to metals through extreme consumption of fish from the Colombian Caribbean Sea.Environmental geochemistry and health · 2018Article
- PUFA Status and Methylmercury Exposure Are Not Associated with Leukocyte Telomere Length in Mothers or Their Children in the Seychelles Child Development Study.The Journal of nutrition · 2017Observational
- Managing mercury exposure in northern Canadian communities.CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne · 2016Review
- Prenatal low-level mercury exposure and infant neurodevelopment at 12 months in rural northern China.Environmental science and pollution research international · 2016Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 4 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundMethylmercury, a worldwide contaminant of fish and seafood, can cause adverse effects on the developing nervous system. However, long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in seafood provide beneficial effects on brain development. Negative confounding will likely result in underestimation of both mercury toxicity and nutrient benefits unless mutual adjustment is included in the analysis.
methodsWe examined these associations in 176 Faroese children, in whom prenatal methylmercury exposure was assessed from mercury concentrations in cord blood and maternal hair. The relative concentrations of fatty acids were determined in cord serum phospholipids. Neuropsychological performance in verbal, motor, attention, spatial, and memory functions was assessed at 7 years of age. Multiple regression and structural equation models (SEMs) were carried out to determine the confounder-adjusted associations with methylmercury exposure.
resultsA short delay recall (in percent change) in the California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT) was associated with a doubling of cord blood methylmercury (-18.9, 95% confidence interval [CI]=-36.3, -1.51). The association became stronger after the inclusion of fatty acid concentrations in the analysis (-22.0, 95% confidence interval [CI]=-39.4, -4.62). In structural equation models, poorer memory function (corresponding to a lower score in the learning trials and short delay recall in CVLT) was associated with a doubling of prenatal exposure to methylmercury after the inclusion of fatty acid concentrations in the analysis (-1.94, 95% CI=-3.39, -0.49).
conclusionsAssociations between prenatal exposure to methylmercury and neurobehavioral deficits in memory function at school age were strengthened after fatty acid adjustment, thus suggesting that n-3 fatty acids need to be included in analysis of similar studies to avoid underestimation of the associations with methylmercury exposure.
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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.