Mercury Sensitization Induced by Environmental Exposure

We investigated mercury sensitization in relation to urinary and hair mercury concentrations. Patch tests were performed on 215 medical students and these tests demonstrated that 28 students were mercury-sensitized (13.0%). Life-styles were studied by questionnarie in 26 of the mercury sensitized st...

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Published inNippon Eiseigaku Zasshi (Japanese Journal of Hygiene) Vol. 52; no. 4; pp. 661 - 666
Main Authors IIDA, Kadzutada, KUSAKA, Yukinori, YANAGIHARA, Makoto, SATO, Kazuhiro, HIRAI, Toshiyuki, UEDA, Keiichi, MORI, Tomio, MIYAKOSHI, Shinji, TOMIYAMA, Takeshi
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Japanese
Published Japan The Japanese Society for Hygiene 1998
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ISSN0021-5082
1882-6482
DOI10.1265/jjh.52.661

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Summary:We investigated mercury sensitization in relation to urinary and hair mercury concentrations. Patch tests were performed on 215 medical students and these tests demonstrated that 28 students were mercury-sensitized (13.0%). Life-styles were studied by questionnarie in 26 of the mercury sensitized students and 46 of the nonsensitized subjects. Urinary mercury concentrations were measured in 25 sensitized and 46 non-sensitized and hair mercury concentrations were measured in 19 sensitized and 22 non-sensitized subjects. The eating of fish was not significantly associated with mercury sensitization (one-tailed t-test). The number of teeth treated with metals in the sensitized group was significantly higher than in the control group (6.8±4.3 in sensitized vs. 4.8±4.1 in non-sensitized, one-tailed t-test. p<0.05). The usage of mercurochrome was not significantly associated with mercury sensitization (chi-squared test). Urinary mercury concentrations were not significantly higher in sensitized subjects. Hair mercury concentrations were significantly higher in sensitized subjects (1.98±0.91μg/g in sensitized vs. 1.23±0.53 in non-sensitized, one-tailed t-test p<0.05). These results suggest that mercury sensitization is associated with increased hair mercury concentrations but not with urinary mercury concentrations. In this study it is confirmed that dental amalgam for treating teeth may be an important factor relating to mercury sensitization.
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ISSN:0021-5082
1882-6482
DOI:10.1265/jjh.52.661