Nicolina Sørensen | PubMed Health

PubMed2003

[Environmental epidemiology research leads to a decrease of the exposure limit for mercury].

The central nervous system is particularly vulnerable to prenatal exposure to methylmercury. Due to the widespread exposure to methylmercury from fish, several prospective environmental epidemiology studies have been initiated, in which the maternal exposure during the pregnancy is related to the neurobehavioural development of the children. We have studied a Faroese birth cohort prenatally exposed to methylmercury from maternal intake of contaminated pilot whale meat. At seven years of age, clear dose-response relationships were observed for deficits in attention, language, and memory. An increase in blood pressure was also associated with the prenatal exposure level. The exposure limit for mercury has therefore been decreased.

Animals↗

PubMed2002

Spermaturia and serum hormone concentrations at the age of puberty in boys prenatally exposed to polychlorinated biphenyls.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether prenatal exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) with possible hormone-disrupting effects is capable of affecting sexual differentiation in boys at the age of puberty. DESIGN: Following analysis for PCB in their umbilical cords, 196 boys from a Faroese birth cohort were examined for the development of puberty at 14 years of age. METHODS: Physical examination included determination of Tanner stages and testicular size. A morning urine sample was centrifuged and examined for the presence of sperm. Serum was analyzed for sex hormones. RESULTS: twenty boys (10.2%) had abnormalities in testicular development, mainly cryptorchidism. only three of them had a positive spermaturia test, but the level of exposure to pcbs in this group had not been increased. occurrence of spermaturia in 58 of the remaining 176 boys was also not associated with pcb exposure but showed highly significant associations with tanner stages and testicular size. serum concentrations of testosterone, fsh and lh were higher in boys with spermaturia, while sex hormone-binding globulin was lower and no difference occurred in inhibin b. serum hormone parameters showed only weak associations with the level of prenatal pcb exposure. CONCLUSIONS: These findings support the validity of spermaturia as a useful indicator of puberty, although a substantial rate of false negatives must be taken into account. Despite the wide range of exposure to PCB, the findings did not reveal any definite associations with the development of puberty. However, because of the limited size of the cohort, small effects cannot be excluded.

Adolescent↗