ArticleEnvironmental research2014
Low-level mercury in children: associations with sleep duration and cytokines TNF-α and IL-6.
Article in Environmental research, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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.
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Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 34 citations in OpenAlex.
- Is exposure to chemical pollutants associated with sleep outcomes? A systematic review.Sleep medicine reviews · 2023Pooled it
- A systematic review of the association between sleep health and stress biomarkers in children.Sleep medicine reviews · 2021Pooled it
- Air pollution exposure and adverse sleep health across the life course: A systematic review.Environmental pollution (Barking, Essex : 1987) · 2020Pooled it
- The impact of environmental pollution on the quality of mother's milk.Environmental science and pollution research international · 2019Pooled it
- Prenatal methylmercury exposure disrupts developmental trajectories and induces sex-specific toxicity in pubertal rats.Research square · 2026Article
- Association Between Trace Elements and Sleep Duration in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: Evidence from a Kurdish Population in Western Iran.Biological trace element research · 2026Article
- Epigenetic Regulation of the BDNF Gene by Molybdenum in 9 to 11-Year-Old Children: A Targeted Gene DNA Methylation Study.Molecular nutrition & food research · 2026Article
- Associations of a metal mixture and vitamin D with sleep duration among adolescents and young adults from the 2011-2018 NHANES cycles.Journal of trace elements in medicine and biology : organ of the Society for Minerals and Trace Elements (GMS) · 2025Article
- The Impact of Mercury from Dental Amalgams on Pregnancy and Childhood: A Health and Risk Assessment Evaluation.Current medicinal chemistry · 2025Review
- Long-chain omega-3 fatty acids, selenium, and mercury in relation to sleep duration and sleep quality: findings from the CARDIA study.European journal of nutrition · 2022Article
- Environmental exposures and sleep outcomes: A review of evidence, potential mechanisms, and implications.Environmental research · 2021Review
- Mercury exposure in relation to sleep duration, timing, and fragmentation among adolescents in Mexico City.Environmental research · 2020Article
- The Relationship between Cytokine Profile and Hypertension among the Mercury-Exposed Residents of Temirtau Region in Central Kazakhstan.Iranian journal of public health · 2020Article
- Dietary contributions to increased background lead, mercury, and cadmium in 9-11 Year old children: Accounting for racial differences.Environmental research · 2020Article
- Plasma DHA Is Related to Sleep Timing and Duration in a Cohort of Mexican Adolescents.The Journal of nutrition · 2020Article
- Guarana improves behavior and inflammatory alterations triggered by methylmercury exposure: an in vivo fruit fly and in vitro neural cells study.Environmental science and pollution research international · 2019Article
- Metals and Circadian Rhythms.Advances in neurotoxicology · 2017Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
There is a sizeable literature suggesting that mercury (Hg) exposure affects cytokine levels in humans. In addition to their signaling role in the immune system, some cytokines are also integrally associated with sleep behavior. In this cross-sectional study of 9-11 year old children (N=100), we measured total blood Hg in whole blood, serum levels of tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) and interleukin 6 (IL-6), and objectively measured sleep and activity using actigraphy. Increasing blood Hg was associated with significantly shorter sleep duration and lower levels of TNF-α. IL-6 was not associated with sleep or blood Hg. This study is the first to document an association between total blood Hg and sleep (albeit a small effect), and the first to consider the associations of total blood Hg with cytokines TNF-α and IL-6 in a pediatric sample. Further research using alternative designs (e.g., time-series) is necessary to determine if there is a causal pathway linking low-level Hg exposure to sleep restriction and reduced cytokines.
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Registered trials
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.