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Cited by 18Mercury impact and mitigation studiesHeavy Metal Exposure and ToxicityHealth Systems, Economic Evaluations, Quality of Life

Burden of Mild Mental Retardation attributed to prenatal methylmercury exposure in Amazon: Local and regional estimates

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Vasconcellos, Ana Claudia Santiago de, Barrocas, Paulo Rubens Guimarães, Ruiz, Claudia Maribel Vega, Mourão, Dennys de Souza, Hacon, Sandra de Souza·2018·Ciência & Saúde Coletiva
DOI 10.1590/1413-812320182311.15812016
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Abstract

Abstract The gold rush in the Amazon Region caused an increase of mercury (Hg) levels in the environment, and, consequently, raised human exposure. Once released into aquatic systems, Hg could generate methylmercury (MeHg), an extremely toxic compound, which is accumulated through trophic chains. Several studies have provided evidences of the brain sensitivity to MeHg, as well as, of the fetus vulnerability during pregnancy. The main objective of this study was to estimate the Mild Mental Retardation (MMR) in Amazonian populations, caused by prenatal exposure to MeHg, using the methodology proposed by Poulin (2008), which quantifies the environmental burden of disease. The estimates of the MMR burden, attributed to prenatal MeHg exposure, were based on the calculation of Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALY), which were obtained from MMR incidence rate in the studied populations. At the local level, the MMR incidence rate calculations were based on primary data of MeHg exposure of riverine women at childbearing age. The MMR incidence rate was equal to 5.96/1,000 infants, which would result in 2.0 IQ points loss in 34.31% of the newborns. The estimated DALY/1,000 infants was equal to 71.2, while the DALY was 576. For the regional estimates, different exposure scenarios were created. The calculated DALY varied from 3,256 to 65,952 per year.

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  • Methylmercury is especially harmful to pregnant women because the fetal brain is more sensitive, causing neurodevelopment problems.

    “This mercurial form is especially harmful to pregnant women because the fetal brain is more sensitive to the action of methylmercury, causing many neurodevelopment problems to occur, including mental retardation, learning delays, visual and auditory alterations, and other harmful effects [31,32,33].”

    From Health Risk Assessment of Mercury Exposure from Fish Consumption in Munduruku Indigenous Communities in the Brazilian Amazon (2021) · cites this paper as [31]

    The Introduction and “MMR MeHg-attributed” section say that the fetus is vulnerable to methylmercury exposure and link prenatal exposure to impaired brain development, cognitive loss, and mild mental retardation. The citing sentence also lists learning delays and visual and auditory alterations; our copy does not specifically support those outcomes. (LLM, conf=0.87)

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Authors
Vasconcellos, A. C. S. D., Barrocas, P. R. G., Ruiz, C. M. V., Mourão, D. D. S., & Hacon, S. D. S.
Affiliations
  • Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Brasil
  • Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública Sergio Arouca (BR)
  • Fiocruz, Brasil
ORCID
Venue
Ciência & Saúde Coletiva
Publisher
FapUNIFESP (SciELO)
Published
2018-11
Volume
23
Issue
11
Pages
3535-3545
ISSN
  • 1413-8123 (ISSN-L)
  • 1678-4561
DOI
10.1590/1413-812320182311.15812016
OpenAlex
W2899834131
Cited by
18
References
0
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 3
FWCI
0.98
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
cc-by
Locations
  • Ciência & Saúde Coletiva (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) (publishedVersion, other-oa)
  • Americanae (AECID Library) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Mercury impact and mitigation studies
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Heavy Metal Exposure and Toxicity
  • Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Economics and Econometrics › Health Systems, Economic Evaluations, Quality of Life
Keywords
mild intellectual disability, prenatal methylmercury exposure, environmental burden of disease, disability-adjusted life years, Amazon, gold rush, mercury contamination, riverine women, reproductive age, IQ loss, exposure scenarios
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adult, Brazil, Environmental Exposure, Female, Persons with Disabilities, Humans, Infant, Infant, Newborn, Intellectual Disability, Methylmercury Compounds, Middle Aged, Pregnancy, Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects, Cost of Illness, Maternal Exposure, Quality-Adjusted Life Years, Young Adult

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