SynthesisEnvironmental health perspectives2022
A Systematic Review of Mercury Exposures from Skin-Lightening Products.
Synthesis in Environmental health perspectives, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 32 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
32 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 44 citations in OpenAlex.
- Clinical characteristics, management, and outcomes of diseases caused by mercury overexposure: a systematic review of case reports and case series.Frontiers in public health · 2026Pooled it
- Re-thinking the link between exposure to mercury and blood pressure.Archives of toxicology · 2025Pooled it
- Toxic metals in Cosmetic and Personal Care Products: Occurrence, Concentrations, and Health Risks.Biological trace element research · 2026Review
- Human Mercury Biomonitoring Under the Minamata Convention: Blood, Urine, Hair, and Tissue Biomarkers (2000-2026).Biological trace element research · 2026Review
- Sperm-Associated Mercury Species Levels Determine Its Impairment: Evidence from Paired Analyses of Whole Semen and Seminal Plasma.Biological trace element research · 2026Article
- Mercury in skin lightening and skin care products purchased in New York City, 2009-2022.Journal of exposure science & environmental epidemiology · 2026Article
- Community assessment of fish consumption and methyl mercury exposure among Asian women of reproductive age in Chicago.Journal of exposure science & environmental epidemiology · 2026Article
- Study of contaminants in natural cosmetics.International journal of occupational medicine and environmental health · 2026Article
- Associations between self-reported personal care products use and menstrual cycle length and regularity in a US digital cohort.Environment international · 2026Article
- Concentrations and Probabilistic Health Risks of Seven Metals in Face and Eye Cosmetics Across Seven Asian Countries.Toxics · 2026Article
- Skin Whitening Creams: Cosmetovigilance.Current pharmaceutical biotechnology · 2026Review
- Potential side effects of toxic and restricted substances found in cosmetics declared to be of natural origin.Frontiers in public health · 2026Review
- Cosmetic Habits Associated With Breast Cancer in Benin: A Multicenter Case-Control Study.Journal of cosmetic dermatology · 2026Article
- Changing Skin: The Prevalence, Impact, and Risks of Skin Bleaching Among African Women.Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities · 2025Review
- Imperatorin ameliorates renal damage and modulates MAPK, Nrf2, and NF-kB pathways in mercury-chloride-exposed rats: A toxicological study relevant to skin lightening practices.Molecular biology reports · 2025Article
- Synthesis of biogenic silver nanoparticles usingRSC advances · 2025Article
- Six principles of exposure science: inspiring solutions that foster healthy environments.Journal of exposure science & environmental epidemiology · 2025Article
- Knowledge, Perceptions, and Practices of Skin-Lightening Products Among Female Medical Students: A Cross-Sectional Study.Journal of cosmetic dermatology · 2025Article
- Project CLEAR (ChemicaL Exposure and Awareness Research): A protocol for assessing the availability and chemical composition of skin-lightening products in Northern Manhattan.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2025Article
- Mercury poisoning in women and infants inhabiting the Gangetic plains of Bihar: risk assessment.BMC public health · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe Minamata Convention on Mercury (Article 4) prohibits the manufacture, import, or export of skin-lightening products containing mercury concentrations above
objectiveThe objective of this study was to increase our understanding of worldwide human mercury exposure from skin-lightening products.
methodsA systematic search of peer-reviewed scientific literature was performed for relevant articles in four databases (PubMed, Web of Science Core Collection, Scopus, and TOXLINE). The search strategy, eligibility criteria, and data-extraction methods were established
resultsThis review was based on data contained in 41 peer-reviewed scientific papers from 22 countries worldwide published between 2000 and 2022. In total, we captured mercury concentration values from 787 skin-lightening product samples [overall pooled central median mercury level was DISCUSSION: This review suggests that mercury widely exists as an active ingredient in many skin-lightening products worldwide and that users are at risk of variable and often high exposures. These synthesized findings identify data gaps and help increase our understanding of the health risks associated with the use of these products. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP10808.
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What OpenQuestion holds
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.