ArticleScientific reports2021
The prevalence of inorganic mercury in human cells increases during aging but decreases in the very old.
Article in Scientific reports, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 17 citations in OpenAlex.
- Re-thinking the link between exposure to mercury and blood pressure.Archives of toxicology · 2025Pooled it
- Influence of theInternational journal of environmental research and public health · 2026Article
- Metal carcinogens and cancer: integrating genetic and epigenetic perspectives.Frontiers in oncology · 2026Review
- Development of a Physiologically Based Pharmacokinetic Model for Inorganic Mercury Salts in Rodents and Humans and Its Application in the Derivation of Health-Based Toxicity Metrics.Environmental science & technology · 2025Article
- Effects of molecular interactions between the exposome and oxylipin metabolism on healthspan.Frontiers in physiology · 2025Review
- Literature review of the potential harm and mechanisms of mercury poisoning related to cosmetics.American journal of translational research · 2024Review
- Elemental biomapping of human tissues suggests toxic metals such as mercury play a role in the pathogenesis of cancer.Frontiers in oncology · 2024Article
- Non-Uniform Bioaccumulation of Lead and Arsenic in Two Remote Regions of the Human Heart's Left Ventricle: A Post-Mortem Study.Biomolecules · 2023Article
- The toxic metal hypothesis for neurological disorders.Frontiers in neurology · 2023Article
- Environmental behavior, human health effect, and pollution control of heavy metal(loid)s toward full life cycle processes.Eco-Environment & Health · 2022Review
- Environmental Nanoparticles Reach Human Fetal Brains.Biomedicines · 2022Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
1 author at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Successful aging is likely to involve both genetic and environmental factors, but environmental toxicants that accelerate aging are not known. Human exposure to mercury is common, and mercury has genotoxic, autoimmune, and free radical effects which could contribute to age-related disorders. The presence of inorganic mercury was therefore assessed in the organs of 170 people aged 1-104 years to determine the prevalence of mercury in human tissues at different ages. Mercury was found commonly in cells of the brain, kidney, thyroid, anterior pituitary, adrenal medulla and pancreas. The prevalence of mercury in these organs increased during aging but decreased in people aged over 80 years. People with mercury in one organ usually also had mercury in several others. In conclusion, the prevalence of inorganic mercury in human organs increases with age. The relative lack of tissue mercury in the very old could account for the flattened mortality rate and reduced incidence of cancer in this advanced age group. Since mercury may accelerate aging, efforts to reduce atmospheric mercury pollution could improve the chances of future successful aging.
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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.