Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health

The Korean Society for Preventive Medicine (대한예방의학회)
권호 표지
DOI QR코드

DOI QR Code

Mercury Exposure in Association With Decrease of Liver Function in Adults: A Longitudinal Study

  • Choi, Jonghyuk (Department of Preventive Medicine, Dankook University College of Medicine) ;
  • Bae, Sanghyuk (Department of Preventive Medicine, Dankook University College of Medicine) ;
  • Lim, Hyungryul (Department of Preventive Medicine, Dankook University College of Medicine) ;
  • Lim, Ji-Ae (Department of Preventive Medicine, Dankook University College of Medicine) ;
  • Lee, Yong-Han (Department of Preventive Medicine, Dankook University College of Medicine) ;
  • Ha, Mina (Department of Preventive Medicine, Dankook University College of Medicine) ;
  • Kwon, Ho-Jang (Department of Preventive Medicine, Dankook University College of Medicine)
  • Received : 2017.07.01
  • Accepted : 2017.10.24
  • Published : 2017.11.30
Download PDF
⟨ Previous Next ⟩

Abstract

Objectives: Although mercury (Hg) exposure is known to be neurotoxic in humans, its effects on liver function have been less often reported. The aim of this study was to investigate whether total Hg exposure in Korean adults was associated with elevated serum levels of the liver enzymes aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine transaminase (ALT), and gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT). Methods: We repeatedly examined the levels of total Hg and liver enzymes in the blood of 508 adults during 2010-2011 and 2014-2015. Cross-sectional associations between levels of blood Hg and liver enzymes were analyzed using a generalized linear model, and nonlinear relationships were analyzed using a generalized additive mixed model. Generalized estimating equations were applied to examine longitudinal associations, considering the correlations of individuals measured repeatedly. Results: GGT increased by 11.0% (95% confidence interval [CI], 4.5 to 18.0%) in women and 8.1% (95% CI, -0.5 to 17.4%) in men per doubling of Hg levels, but AST and ALT were not significantly associated with Hg in either men or women. In women who drank more than 2 or 3 times per week, AST, ALT, and GGT levels increased by 10.6% (95% CI, 4.2 to 17.5%), 7.7% (95% CI, 1.1 to 14.7%), and 37.5% (95% CI,15.2 to 64.3%) per doubling of Hg levels, respectively, showing an interaction between blood Hg levels and drinking. Conclusions: Hg exposure was associated with an elevated serum concentration of GGT. Especially in women who were frequent drinkers, AST, ALT, and GGT showed a significant increase, with a significant synergistic effect of Hg and alcohol consumption.

Keywords

References

  1. Genchi G, Sinicropi MS, Carocci A, Lauria G, Catalano A. Mercury exposure and heart diseases. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2017;14(1):E74. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14010074
  2. World Health Organization. Exposure to mercury: a major public health concern, preventing disease through healthy environment. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2007, p.1.
  3. Yaginuma-Sakurai K, Murata K, Iwai-Shimada M, Nakai K, Kurokawa N, Tatsuta N, et al. Hair-to-blood ratio and biological half-life of mercury: experimental study of methylmercury exposure through fish consumption in humans. J Toxicol Sci 2012;37(1):123-130. https://doi.org/10.2131/jts.37.123
  4. Awata H, Linder S, Mitchell LE, Delclos GL. Biomarker levels of toxic metals among Asian populations in the United States: NHANES 2011-2012. Environ Health Perspect 2017;125(3):306-313.
  5. Seo JW, Kim BG, Kim YM, Kim RB, Chung JY, Lee KM, et al. Trend of blood lead, mercury, and cadmium levels in Korean population: data analysis of the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Environ Monit Assess 2015;187(3):146. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-015-4348-2
  6. Harada M. Minamata disease: methylmercury poisoning in Japan caused by environmental pollution. Crit Rev Toxicol 1995;25(1):1-24. https://doi.org/10.3109/10408449509089885
  7. Mahaffey KR. Mercury exposure: medical and public health issues. Trans Am Clin Climatol Assoc 2005;116:127-154.
  8. Fernandes Azevedo B, Barros Furieri L, Pecanha FM, Wiggers GA, Frizera Vassallo P, Ronacher Simoes M, et al. Toxic effects of mercury on the cardiovascular and central nervous systems. J Biomed Biotechnol 2012;2012:949048.
  9. Futatsuka M, Kitano T, Nagano M, Inaoka T, Arimatsu Y, Ueno T, et al. An epidemiological study with risk analysis of liver diseases in the general population living in a methyl mercury polluted area. J Epidemiol Community Health 1992;46(3):237-240. https://doi.org/10.1136/jech.46.3.237
  10. Poursafa P, Ataee E, Motlagh ME, Ardalan G, Tajadini MH, Yazdi M, et al. Association of serum lead and mercury level with cardiometabolic risk factors and liver enzymes in a nationally representative sample of adolescents: the CASPIAN-III study. Environ Sci Pollut Res Int 2014;21(23):13496-13502. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-3238-4
  11. Cave M, Appana S, Patel M, Falkner KC, McClain CJ, Brock G. Polychlorinated biphenyls, lead, and mercury are associated with liver disease in American adults: NHANES 2003-2004. Environ Health Perspect 2010;118(12):1735-1742. https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1002720
  12. Lee H, Kim Y, Sim CS, Ham JO, Kim NS, Lee BK. Associations between blood mercury levels and subclinical changes in liver enzymes among South Korean general adults: analysis of 2008-2012 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data. Environ Res 2014;130:14-19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2014.01.005
  13. Lee MR, Lim YH, Lee BE, Hong YC. Blood mercury concentrations are associated with decline in liver function in an elderly population: a panel study. Environ Health 2017;16(1):17. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12940-017-0228-2
  14. Seo MS, Lee HR, Shim JY, Kang HT, Lee YJ. Relationship between blood mercury concentrations and serum $\gamma$-glutamyltrans-peptidase level in Korean adults using data from the 2010 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Clin Chim Acta 2014;430:160-163. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cca.2014.01.042
  15. Lim JA, Kwon HJ, Ha M, Kim H, Oh SY, Kim JS, et al. Korean research project on the integrated exposure assessment of hazardous substances for food safety. Environ Health Toxicol 2015;30:e2015004. https://doi.org/10.5620/eht.e2015004
  16. Lim JS, Yang JH, Chun BY, Kam S, Jacobs DR Jr, Lee DH. Is serum gamma-glutamyltransferase inversely associated with serum antioxidants as a marker of oxidative stress? Free Radic Biol Med 2004;37(7):1018-1023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2004.06.032
  17. Wadaan MA. Effects of mercury exposure on blood chemistry and liver histopathology of male rats. J Pharmacol Toxicol 2009;4(3):126-131. https://doi.org/10.3923/jpt.2009.126.131
  18. Macirella R, Guardia A, Pellegrino D, Bernabo I, Tronci V, Ebbesson LO, et al. Effects of two sublethal concentrations of mercury chloride on the morphology and metallothionein activity in the liver of zebrafish (Danio rerio). Int J Mol Sci 2016;17(3):361. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms17030361
  19. Ung CY, Lam SH, Hlaing MM, Winata CL, Korzh S, Mathavan S, et al. Mercury-induced hepatotoxicity in zebrafish: in vivo mechanistic insights from transcriptome analysis, phenotype anchoring and targeted gene expression validation. BMC Genomics 2010;11:212. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2164-11-212
  20. Koenig G, Seneff S. Gamma-glutamyltransferase: a predictive biomarker of cellular antioxidant inadequacy and disease risk. Dis Markers 2015;2015:818570.
  21. Hong YS, Kim YM, Lee KE. Methylmercury exposure and health effects. J Prev Med Public Health 2012;45(6):353-363. https://doi.org/10.3961/jpmph.2012.45.6.353
  22. Mahaffey KR, Clickner RP, Bodurow CC. Blood organic mercury and dietary mercury intake: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1999 and 2000. Environ Health Perspect 2004;112(5):562-570. https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.6587

Cited by

  1. Associations between mercury exposure and the risk of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in US adolescents vol.26, pp.30, 2019, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-06224-5
  2. Blood mercury and liver enzymes: A pan-India retrospective correlation study vol.36, pp.12, 2020, https://doi.org/10.1177/0748233720970437
  3. Association between Blood Mercury Levels and Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Non-Obese Populations: The Korean National Environmental Health Survey (KoNEHS) 2012-2014 vol.18, pp.12, 2021, https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18126412
  4. In Utero Exposure to Mercury Is Associated With Increased Susceptibility to Liver Injury and Inflammation in Childhood vol.74, pp.3, 2017, https://doi.org/10.1002/hep.31809
  5. Lead, mercury, and cadmium exposures are associated with obesity but not with diabetes mellitus: Korean National Environmental Health Survey (KoNEHS) 2015-2017 vol.204, pp.no.pa, 2017, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2021.111888
  6. Identification source and human health risk assessment of potentially toxic metal in soil samples around karst watershed of Pangkajene, Indonesia vol.17, pp.None, 2022, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enmm.2021.100634