Estimate of prenatal exposure to mercury through umbilical cord matrices

International Journal of Development Research

Volume: 
12
Article ID: 
20418
6 pages
Research Article

Estimate of prenatal exposure to mercury through umbilical cord matrices

Maria da Conceição Nascimento Pinheiro; Márcia Cristina Freitas da Silva; Sidney Amaral da Silva; Cleoci Aguiar1;Saul Rassy Carneiro; Ademar Soares Neto; Margareth Tavares Silva; and Carlos Eduardo Pereira Corbett

Abstract: 

Mercury concentrations in maternal and fetal tissues are used as biomarkers of prenatal exposure, however, some doubts remain regarding the matrix that can best express exposure during pregnancy. The purpose of this study was to verify the correlation of total mercury concentration between the different matrices of the umbilical cord. The study included 278 umbilical cords from pairs of mothers and newborns attended to delivery at the Itaituba/Pará/ Brazil, Public Maternity Hospital.The Total mercury concentrations (TotalHg) were determined in cord tissue (TC), in vein blood (VB) and arteries blood (AB) of the umbilical cord separately, by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Maternal data including sociodemographicand weekly frequency fish intake and newborn outcomes arepresented. The mercury concentration measured in cord umbilical tissue in wet weigth showed strong correlation with those found in vein blood and arteries bloodsuggesting that the matrices from cord umbilical analyzed separately or together by the methodology used in this study can be used in studies that evaluate prenatal exposure to mercury.

Download PDF: