Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31775748›Full record

ArticleBMC medicine2019

In utero exposure to mercury and childhood overweight or obesity: counteracting effect of maternal folate status.

Guoying Wang, Jessica DiBari, Eric Bind, Andrew M Steffens, Jhindan Mukherjee, Tami R Bartell, David C Bellinger, Xiumei Hong, Yuelong Ji, Mei-Cheng Wang and 3 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in BMC medicine, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
21citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
1.5field-weighted citation impact, top 20% 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

21 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 36 citations in OpenAlex.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.

Guoying WangDepartment of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Center on the Early Life Origins of Disease, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 N. Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD, 21205-2179, USA. gwang24@jhu.edu.
Jessica DiBariDivision of Research, Office of Epidemiology and Research, Maternal and Child Health Bureau, Health Resources and Services Administration, 5600 Fishers Ln, Rockville, MD, 20852, USA.
Eric BindMetals Laboratory, Environmental and Chemical Laboratory Services, The New Jersey Department of Health, Trenton, NJ, 08628, USA.
Andrew M SteffensMetals Laboratory, Environmental and Chemical Laboratory Services, The New Jersey Department of Health, Trenton, NJ, 08628, USA.
Jhindan MukherjeeMetals Laboratory, Environmental and Chemical Laboratory Services, The New Jersey Department of Health, Trenton, NJ, 08628, USA.
Tami R BartellMary Ann & J. Milburn Smith Child Health Research, Outreach and Advocacy Center, Stanley Manne Children's Research Institute, Ann & Robert H Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, 2430 N Halsted St, Chicago, IL, 60614, USA.
David C BellingerDepartment of Neurology, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 300 Longwood Ave, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
Xiumei HongDepartment of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Center on the Early Life Origins of Disease, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 N. Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD, 21205-2179, USA.
Yuelong JiDepartment of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Center on the Early Life Origins of Disease, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 N. Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD, 21205-2179, USA.
Mei-Cheng WangDepartment of Biostatistics, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 N. Wolfe street, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA.
Marsha Wills-KarpDepartment of Environmental Health and Engineering, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 N. Wolfe street, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA.
Tina L ChengDepartment of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, 615 N. Wolfe street, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA.
Xiaobin WangDepartment of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Center on the Early Life Origins of Disease, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 N. Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD, 21205-2179, USA.
Johns Hopkins University · USNew Jersey Department of Health · USBoston Children's Hospital · USHealth Resources and Services Administration · USLurie Children's Hospital · US

Funding

Preterm Birth, Maternal and Cord Blood Metabolome, and Child Metabolic RiskR01HD041702 · NICHD · LURIE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF CHICAGO · PI Frank B Hu, XIAOBIN WANG · 2001 to 2026
$11.1M
Boston University Clinical and Translational Science Institute - U ProgramU54TR001012 · NCATS · BOSTON UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CAMPUS · PI CENTER, DAVID M. · 2014 to 2014
$3.9M
Early Life Determinants of Obesity in U.S. Urban Low Income Minority Birth CohortR01HD086013 · NICHD · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · PI LEE, BRUCE Y, WANG, XIAOBIN · 2016 to 2020
$3.3M
Maternal Exposure to Low Level Mercury, Metabolome, and Child Cardiometabolic Risk in Multi-Ethnic Prospective Birth CohortsR01ES031272 · NIEHS · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · PI WANG, GUOYING, WANG, XIAOBIN · 2020 to 2024
$1.2M
In Utero Exposure to Metals and Vitamins B on Placenta and Child Cardiometabolic OutcomesR03ES029594 · NIEHS · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · PI WANG, GUOYING · 2019 to 2020
$164k
NCATS NIH HHS U54 TR001012NICHD NIH HHS R01 HD041702NICHD NIH HHS R01 HD086013NIEHS NIH HHS R01 ES031272NIEHS NIH HHS R03 ES029594
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundLow-dose mercury (Hg) exposure has been associated with cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and obesity in adults, but it is unknown the metabolic consequence of in utero Hg exposure. This study aimed to investigate the association between in utero Hg exposure and child overweight or obesity (OWO) and to explore if adequate maternal folate can mitigate Hg toxicity.

methodsThis prospective study included 1442 mother-child pairs recruited at birth and followed up to age 15 years. Maternal Hg in red blood cells and plasma folate levels were measured in samples collected 1-3 days after delivery (a proxy for third trimester exposure). Adequate folate was defined as plasma folate ≥ 20.4 nmol/L. Childhood OWO was defined as body mass index ≥ 85% percentile for age and sex.

resultsThe median (interquartile range) of maternal Hg levels were 2.11 (1.04-3.70) μg/L. Geometric mean (95% CI) of maternal folate levels were 31.1 (30.1-32.1) nmol/L. Maternal Hg levels were positively associated with child OWO from age 2-15 years, independent of maternal pre-pregnancy OWO, diabetes, and other covariates. The relative risk (RR = 1.24, 95% CI 1.05-1.47) of child OWO associated with the highest quartile of Hg exposure was 24% higher than those with the lowest quartile. Maternal pre-pregnancy OWO and/or diabetes additively enhanced Hg toxicity. The highest risk of child OWO was found among children of OWO and diabetic mothers in the top Hg quartile (RR = 2.06; 95% CI 1.56-2.71) compared to their counterparts. Furthermore, adequate maternal folate status mitigated Hg toxicity. Given top quartile Hg exposure, adequate maternal folate was associated with a 34% reduction in child OWO risk (RR = 0.66, 95% CI 0.51-0.85) as compared with insufficient maternal folate. There was a suggestive interaction between maternal Hg and folate levels on child OWO risk (p for interaction = 0.086).

conclusionsIn this US urban, multi-ethnic population, elevated in utero Hg exposure was associated with a higher risk of OWO in childhood, and such risk was enhanced by maternal OWO and/or diabetes and reduced by adequate maternal folate. These findings underscore the need to screen for Hg and to optimize maternal folate status, especially among mothers with OWO and/or diabetes.

Indexed as

Maternal ExposureAdolescentAdultBody Mass IndexChildChild, PreschoolFemaleFolic AcidFollow-Up StudiesHumansInfantInfant, NewbornMaleMercuryPediatric ObesityPregnancyFolic AcidMercuryDiabetesFolateIn uteroMercuryMetalNutrientObesityOverweight

Identifiers

PMID31775748
PMCPMC6882077
OpenAlexW2989864869

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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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.