Pilot study of intrauterine exposure to methylmercury in Eastern Aegean islands, Greece

A group of islands with a total population of about 200,000 was identified in the Eastern Aegean, where there was evidence to suggest possible increased exposure to methylmercury (MeHg) through consumption of fresh local fish and other seafood from seas bordered by mercury-bearing rock. A feasibility study was conducted to explore the possibility of defining a local population of mother–child pairs in whom to investigate the intrauterine exposure effect. Analysis of 246 hair samples collected from pregnant women and mothers of newborn babies and children under 5 years showed levels of total Hg from 0.046 μg/g to 17.5 μg/g, geometric mean 1.36 μg/g, and of MeHg from 0.031 μg/g to 16.2 μg/g, geometric mean 1.07 μg/g. About 5% of the mothers had hair total Hg levels in excess of 6.00 μg/g. Investigation of dietary habits showed that one-third of the mothers eat fresh local fish at least 3 times weekly, one-third once a week and 10% rarely or never. There was a close association between weekly rates of local fish consumption and hair levels of both total Hg and MeHg. A power calculation determined that a cohort of 3000 mother–child pairs would enable comparison of a high-exposure group (those with the upper 5% of hair MeHg) with a low exposure group (5%, selected from those with the lower 30% of hair MeHg, matched for confounding factors), in order to detect an effect size of 0.35 to 0.45 at a power of 85–95%. It is concluded that the mothers and children in the Eastern Aegean islands studied comprise a population suitable for an epidemiological study of the effects of intrauterine exposure to MeHg via maternal fresh local fish consumption.