ASSOCIATION OF MERCURY EXPOSURE WITH PERCEIVED HEALTH AND - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

ASSOCIATION OF MERCURY EXPOSURE WITH PERCEIVED HEALTH AND HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE DURING PREGNANCY IN SURINAME A . R . G O K O E L , L . L . K A E R S E N H O U T , A . D . H I N D O R I - M O H A N G O O , M . S . M A C D O N A L D - O T T E V A N G E R , C . W . R . Z I J L M A N S , M . Y . L I C H T V E L D , E . W . H A R V I L L E

DISCLAIMER This work is supported by the NIH Fogarty International Center (grant numbers R24TW009570, R24TW009561, U01TW010087, and U2RTW010104) The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health

BACKGROUND • Mercury exposure (during pregnancy)may cause adverse health effects in women and children e.g. adverse neuro-developmental disorders for the child • The abundant use of mercury in illegal gold mining in Suriname’s interior is of growing concern • This study examined the association between hair Hg levels and, perceived health and Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) in Surinamese pregnant women

METHODS • Epidemiologic environmental cohort study • Standardized questionnaire: SF-36 (HRQoL, score 0-100) • HRQoL: physical functioning, role-physical, bodily pain, vitality, general health, role emotional and mental health • Perceived health: 5- point likert scale • Hair mercury: < 1.1 ug/g, ≧ 1.1 ug/g (U.S. EPA action level) • n= 311 pregnant women

DISTRIBUTION OF HAIR HG LEVELS AND PERCEIVED HEALTH 300 250 250 200 200 150 150 n 250 228 n (72.5%) (73.3%) 100 100 95 83 50 50 (27.5%) (26.7%) 0 0 < 1.1 ≥ 1.1 poor, fair good, very good, excellent Hg levels perceived health

ASSOCIATION SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHICS AND PERCEIVED HEALTH Perceived health Bivariate OR (95% CI) p-value Good, very good, Poor, fair excellent n (%) n (%) Age 0.32 <20 years 18 (64.3) 10 (35.7) 1.51 (0.67-0.42) ≥ 20 years 207 (73.1) 76 (26.9) 1 Ethnic group 0.81 African descent 97 (70.8) 40 (29.2) 1 Asian descent 79 (74.5) 27 (25.5) 0.83 (0.47-1.47) Other 49 (72.1) 19 (27.9) 0.94 (0.49-1.79) Region 0.06 Interior 4 (44.4) 5 (55.6) 3.41 (0.89-13.01) Other 221 (73.2) 81 (26.8) 1 Education 0.05 ≤ secondary 180 (70.0) 77 (30.0) 2.14 (0.95-4.08) higher 45 (83.3) 9 (16.7) 1 Household income 0.54 <3000 120 (71.9) 47 (28.1) 1.19 (0.69-2.06) ≥ 3000 82 (75.2) 27 (24.8) 1

DISTRIBUTION OF PERCEIVED HEALTH FOR NORMAL AND ELEVATED HAIR HG LEVELS 250 66 200 (28.9%) 150 Perceived health poor, fair good, very good, excellent 100 162 20 p= 0.40 (71.1%) (24.1%) 50 63 (75.9%) 0 < 1.1 ≥ 1.1 (Hg)

DISTRIBUTION OF HRQOL AMONG PREGNANT WOMEN FOR NORMAL AND ELEVATED HAIR HG LEVELS 77.8 77.0 69.5 68.5 68.0 67.8 67.3 66.2 65.5 65.0 60.0 57.0 50.4 49.6 physical role physical bodily pain vitality general health role emotional mental health functioning < 1.1 ≥ 1.1 ( Hg )

CONCLUSION • 1 out of 4 pregnant Surinamese women had hair Hg levels above the USEPA action level • Hair Hg was not significantly associated with lower HRQoL and poor perceived health

DISCUSSION & ASSUMPTIONS • Results are preliminary and may change as the study progresses • Further research is mandated to determine the association between hair Hg and HRQoL in pregnant women