Impact of low-level mercury exposure on intelligence quotient in children via rice consumption.

This study investigated the relationship between hair Hg concentrations and the intelligence quotient (IQ) of 314 children aged 8-10 years, recruited from three local primary schools in Wanshan area in 2018 and 2019. IQ was evaluated using Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children - Fourth Edition (WISC-IV). The average THg concentration in children's hair samples was 1.53 μg g-1 (range: 0.21-12.6 μg g-1), and 65.6% exceeded the United States Environment Protection Agency (USEPA) recommended value of 1 μg g-1. Results of logistic regression analysis showed that children with hair Hg ≥ 1 μg g-1 were 1.58 times more likely to have an IQ score <80, which is the clinical cut-off for borderline intellectual disability (R2 = 0.20, p = 0.03). Increasing of 1 μg g-1 hair Hg resulted in 1 point of IQ loss in Wanshan children, which was.much higher than that via fish consumption. The economical cost due to Hg exposure was estimated to be $69.8 million (9.43% of total GDP) in the Wanshan area in 2018. PMID: 32593806 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Tags: Ecotoxicol Environ Saf Source Type: research