Comparison of Mercury Level of Cord Blood in Term and Preterm Neonates

Background: Mercury is a one of the pollutant that can cross the placenta. Contamination by mercury in mothers and their neonates is associated with many problems. Objectives: This study aimed to compare mercury levels of cord blood in term and preterm neonates in Akbarabadi Hospital, Tehran, Iran, 2014. Methods: In this analytical cross-sectional study, we evaluated 50 term and 50 preterm neonates who were born in Akbarabadi Hospital in 2014. Necessary information including mother’s age, location, mother’s job, use of amalgam, use of fish, use of blood products and level of mercury were collected. Data were entered into SPSS V.16 and analyzed. Results: Mean age of mothers was 30.1 (SD = 6.4) years. Location in 86 (86%) were Tehran and in 14 (14%) were out of Tehran. Mean of mercury in neonatal cord blood was 2.7 (SD = 1.3) µg/L. There was significant difference between this mean in term and preterm neonates (P value = 0.009), while mean of mercury level in term neonates was 2.3 (SD = 0.7) µg/L and in preterms was 3 (SD = 1.7) µg/L. Mean of using fish in term neonates was1.2 (SD = 1.3) and in preterms was 1.6 (SD = 2.5). We could not find any significant difference between mercury level and using amalgam, fish and blood products in term and preterm neonates (P value 0.05). Conclusions: Mercury level of cord blood in our study was higher compared to other studies, although it is not in the level of toxicity. Also we found that mercury level in preterm neonates is significantly higher than term neonates, therefore evaluating factors affecting mercury levels in neonates is essential.