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Use of advanced cluster analysis to characterize fish consumption patterns and methylmercury dietary exposures from fish and other sea foods among pregnant women

Abstract

On account of the interspecies variability in contamination and nutrient contents, consumers must balance the risks and benefits of fish consumption through their choice of species, meal size and frequency. The objectives of this study were to better characterize the risk of methylmercury (MeHg) exposure in a sample of 161 French pregnant women consuming sea food, including fish, molluscs and crustaceans, and to explore the use of unsupervised statistical learning as an advanced type of cluster analysis to identify patterns of fish consumption that could predict exposure to MeHg and the coverage of the Recommended Daily Allowance for n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA). The proportion of about 5% of pregnant women exposed at levels higher than the tolerable weekly intake for MeHg is similar to that observed among women of childbearing age in earlier French studies. At the same time, only about 50% of the women reached the recommended intake of 500 mg/day n-3 PUFA. Cluster analysis of the fish consumption showed that they could be grouped in five major clusters that are largely predictable of the intake of both MeHg and n-3 PUFA. This study shows that a global increase in seafood consumption could lead to MeHg exposure above the toxicological limits for pregnant women, thereby questioning the overall balance between this potential risk and potential beneficial effects of n-3 PUFA intakes. Only pregnant women consuming a high proportion of fatty fish meet the n-3 PUFA intake requirements without exceeding the toxicological limit for MeHg. The clusters identified suggest that different intervention strategies may be needed to address the dual purpose of ensuring high PUFA intakes at acceptable MeHg exposures.

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Notes

  1. None of the previous hair–blood comparison studies have included hair of African type, and comparison with mercury in Caucasian hair and with existing dose–effect relationships would therefore involve additional uncertainty. Further, it is more difficult to obtain an accurate 2-cm segment from curly hair. Although some Africans may have straightened their hair by permanent treatment, this type of hair treatment is known to leach mercury out of the hair, thereby causing a bias.

  2. The FFQ in French can be uploaded on our web site: http://www.paris.inra.fr/metarisk/downloads/publications

  3. World Medical Association 1997 (http://www.wma.net/e/)

Abbreviations

AFSSA:

Agence Française de Sécurité Sanitaire des Aliments

AWC:

average weekly intake

DHA:

docosahexaenoic acid

DPA:

docosapentaenoic acid

EPA:

eicosapentaenoic acid

FFQ:

food frequency questionnaire

JECFA:

Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives and Contaminants

MeHg:

methylmercury

PTWI:

provisional tolerable weekly intake

PUFA:

polyunsaturated fatty acid

RDA:

Recommended Daily Allowance

SOM:

self-organizing map

US EPA:

United States Environmental Protection Agency

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Acknowledgements

We are very grateful to Dr. Stéphan Clémençon for his guidance regarding statistical analyses and to Dr. Jessica Tressou for her help in reviewing the paper. We also thank Ms. Brita Andersen and Ranja Bjerring for carrying out mercury analyses, and the women who participated in this prospective study. We are indebted to the members of Saint-Nazaire Hospital, Nantes University Hospital and the Polyclinique de l’Atlantique in Saint-Herblain. We also thank Sylvie and Céline for their assistance with generating this cohort. This research was jointly funded by grants from the Research Program on Human Nutrition and the National Institute of Agricultural Research (INRA).

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Correspondence to Philippe Verger.

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All research methods and materials were approved by the local Ethics Committee for Pays de Loire (Nantes) regarding the protection of individuals participating in biomedical research programs.

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Pouzaud, F., Ibbou, A., Blanchemanche, S. et al. Use of advanced cluster analysis to characterize fish consumption patterns and methylmercury dietary exposures from fish and other sea foods among pregnant women. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 20, 54–68 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/jes.2009.2

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