Mercury and Prenatal Growth: A Systematic Review
The intrauterine environment is critical for healthy prenatal growth and affects neonatal survival and later health. Mercury is a toxic metal which can freely cross the placenta and disrupt a wide range of cellular processes. Many observational studies have investigated mercury exposure and prenatal...
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doaj-60a489d857734a668b799bbbb68dd29e2021-07-15T15:35:55ZengMDPI AGInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health1661-78271660-46012021-07-01187140714010.3390/ijerph18137140Mercury and Prenatal Growth: A Systematic ReviewKyle Dack0Matthew Fell1Caroline M. Taylor2Alexandra Havdahl3Sarah J. Lewis4Medical Research Council Integrative Epidemiology Unit, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 2BN, UKCleft Collective, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 2BN, UKCentre for Academic Child Health, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1NU, UKDepartment of Mental Disorders, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, 0456 Oslo, NorwayMedical Research Council Integrative Epidemiology Unit, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 2BN, UKThe intrauterine environment is critical for healthy prenatal growth and affects neonatal survival and later health. Mercury is a toxic metal which can freely cross the placenta and disrupt a wide range of cellular processes. Many observational studies have investigated mercury exposure and prenatal growth, but no prior review has synthesised this evidence. Four relevant publication databases (Embase, MEDLINE/PubMed, PsycINFO, and Scopus) were systematically searched to identify studies of prenatal mercury exposure and birth weight, birth length, or head circumference. Study quality was assessed using the NIH Quality Assessment Tool, and results synthesised in a narrative review. Twenty-seven studies met the review criteria, these were in 17 countries and used 8 types of mercury biomarker. Studies of birth weight (total = 27) involving populations with high levels of mercury exposure, non-linear methods, or identified as high quality were more likely to report an association with mercury, but overall results were inconsistent. Most studies reported no strong evidence of association between mercury and birth length (n = 14) or head circumference (n = 14). Overall, our review did not identify strong evidence that mercury exposure leads to impaired prenatal growth, although there was some evidence of a negative association of mercury with birth weight.https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/13/7140systematic reviewpregnancychildhoodmercurytoxic metalbirth weight |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Kyle Dack Matthew Fell Caroline M. Taylor Alexandra Havdahl Sarah J. Lewis |
spellingShingle |
Kyle Dack Matthew Fell Caroline M. Taylor Alexandra Havdahl Sarah J. Lewis Mercury and Prenatal Growth: A Systematic Review International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health systematic review pregnancy childhood mercury toxic metal birth weight |
author_facet |
Kyle Dack Matthew Fell Caroline M. Taylor Alexandra Havdahl Sarah J. Lewis |
author_sort |
Kyle Dack |
title |
Mercury and Prenatal Growth: A Systematic Review |
title_short |
Mercury and Prenatal Growth: A Systematic Review |
title_full |
Mercury and Prenatal Growth: A Systematic Review |
title_fullStr |
Mercury and Prenatal Growth: A Systematic Review |
title_full_unstemmed |
Mercury and Prenatal Growth: A Systematic Review |
title_sort |
mercury and prenatal growth: a systematic review |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health |
issn |
1661-7827 1660-4601 |
publishDate |
2021-07-01 |
description |
The intrauterine environment is critical for healthy prenatal growth and affects neonatal survival and later health. Mercury is a toxic metal which can freely cross the placenta and disrupt a wide range of cellular processes. Many observational studies have investigated mercury exposure and prenatal growth, but no prior review has synthesised this evidence. Four relevant publication databases (Embase, MEDLINE/PubMed, PsycINFO, and Scopus) were systematically searched to identify studies of prenatal mercury exposure and birth weight, birth length, or head circumference. Study quality was assessed using the NIH Quality Assessment Tool, and results synthesised in a narrative review. Twenty-seven studies met the review criteria, these were in 17 countries and used 8 types of mercury biomarker. Studies of birth weight (total = 27) involving populations with high levels of mercury exposure, non-linear methods, or identified as high quality were more likely to report an association with mercury, but overall results were inconsistent. Most studies reported no strong evidence of association between mercury and birth length (n = 14) or head circumference (n = 14). Overall, our review did not identify strong evidence that mercury exposure leads to impaired prenatal growth, although there was some evidence of a negative association of mercury with birth weight. |
topic |
systematic review pregnancy childhood mercury toxic metal birth weight |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/13/7140 |
work_keys_str_mv |
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1721299441317576704 |