Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32780346›Full record

ArticleCanadian journal of public health = Revue canadienne de sante publique2021

A descriptive analysis of blood mercury test results in British Columbia to identify excessive exposures.

David A McVea, Emma Cumming, Tissa Rahim, Tom Kosatsky

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Canadian journal of public health = Revue canadienne de sante publique, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0citing papers in PubMed
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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

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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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

David A McVeaUniversity of British Columbia Public Health and Preventive Medicine Residency, Vancouver, BC, Canada.ORCID 0000-0003-4019-130X
Emma CummingPublic Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Tissa RahimEnvironmental Health Services, BC Centre for Disease Control, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Tom KosatskyEnvironmental Health Services, BC Centre for Disease Control, Vancouver, BC, Canada. tom.kosatsky@bccdc.ca.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveThe objective of this study was to describe who in British Columbia (BC) is tested for blood mercury, the distribution of their results, and the adequacy of follow-up testing.

methodsThe BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) obtained records of clinician-ordered analyses of blood mercury conducted by BC laboratories during 2009 and 2010. We conducted a descriptive analysis with statistical testing of who was tested, the distribution of their blood mercury concentrations, whose results exceeded Health Canada's proposed guidance values (8 μg/L (40 nmol/L) for children/adolescents ≤ 18 years and women 19-49 years, and 20 μg/L (100 nmol/L) for other adults), and patterns of repeat testing.

resultsMercury test results for 6487 individuals were reviewed. Adults ≥ 50 years had the highest testing rates. The median blood mercury concentration for all tested persons was 1.8 μg/L. Nine percent of women aged 19-49 years had results exceeding Health Canada's provisional guidance value of 8 μg/L. Data from one of BC's two biomarker laboratories indicated that some residents of Vancouver and nearby suburbs have higher exposure to mercury than other BC residents. Of 127 individuals who had results in 2009 exceeding provisional guidance values, only 45% were tested again within 12 months.

conclusionCollating and analyzing all clinical biomarker testing such as blood mercury at a provincial population level allows for assessment of the adequacy and appropriateness of follow-up testing and suggests which regional and demographic strata are at higher levels of exposure.

Indexed as

Diagnostic Techniques and ProceduresEnvironmental ExposureMercuryAdolescentAdultBiomarkersBritish ColumbiaChildFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedYoung AdultBiomarkersMercuryBiomarkerBloodDiagnosticsEpidemiologyFamily medicineGeneral practiceMercuryMethylmercuryPrimary carePublic healthWomen’s health

Identifiers

PMID32780346
PMCPMC7910344

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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.