Assessing a New Method for Measuring Fetal Exposure to Mercury: Newborn Bloodspots

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2016 Jul 9;13(7):692. doi: 10.3390/ijerph13070692.

Abstract

Background: Measuring mercury in newborn bloodspots to determine fetal exposures is a novel methodology with many advantages. Questions remain, however, about its reliability as an estimate of newborn exposure to mercury.

Methods: We studied mercury concentrations in paired bloodspots and cord blood from a convenience sample of 48 Minnesota women and infants.

Results: The limit of detection for bloodspots was higher than for cord blood (0.7 and 0.3 μg/L in bloodspots and cord blood, respectively) with the result that mercury was detected in only 38% of newborn bloodspots compared to 62% of cord blood samples. The geometric mean mercury concentration in cord blood was 0.6 μg/L. Mercury concentrations were almost uniformly lower in bloodspots than in cord blood (mean ratio (±SD) = 0.85 ± 0.4), their mean value was significantly less than that for the cord blood (p = 0.02), and the two methods were highly correlated (r = 0.82).

Conclusion: These preliminary findings indicate that newborn bloodspot mercury measurements have utility; however, until bloodspot analyses are more sensitive, they are likely to underestimate in utero exposure.

Keywords: biomonitoring; cord blood; fetal exposure; mercury; newborn bloodspots.

MeSH terms

  • Dried Blood Spot Testing / methods*
  • Environmental Pollutants / blood*
  • Female
  • Fetal Blood / chemistry*
  • Humans
  • Infant, Newborn
  • Maternal-Fetal Exchange*
  • Mercury / blood*
  • Minnesota
  • Pregnancy
  • Reproducibility of Results

Substances

  • Environmental Pollutants
  • Mercury