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Assessment of fish consumption and mercury exposure among pregnant women in Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago

Ricketts, Phylicia and Basu, Niladri and Fletcher, Horace and Voutchkov, Mitko and Bassaw, Bharat

Horace Melford Fletcher

Chemosphere (Oxford)

2016

164

Mercury ; Exposure Assessment ; Biomarkers ; Placenta ; Fish Consumption ; Caribbean ; Mercury ; Exposure Assessment ; Biomarkers ; Placenta ; Fish Consumption ; Caribbean ; Chemistry ; Ecology

462–468

Fish is an essential and traditional element in the diet of most Caribbean people. However it also contains methylmercury which can have severe effects on fetal neurodevelopment. The objective of this study was to assess the fish intake of a selected group of pregnant women from Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago and evaluate prenatal mercury exposure, using the placenta as a biomarker.

Food frequency questionnaires and placental samples were obtained from participating parturients at the time of delivery at the University Hospital of the West Indies in Kingston, Jamaica (N = 100, from November 2012 to March 2013) and the Mt Hope Women's hospital in St Joseph, Trinidad & Tobago (N = 30, in June 2015). The participants were asked to identify the species of fish and the frequency of consumption. Placental samples were analysed for mercury using cold vapour atomic absorption.

The fish consumption preferences for pregnant women, varies based...

Elsevier Ltd

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