Dietary Counseling on Risks and Benefits of Fish Consumption and Mercury Testing in Reproductive Age Women in a Health Clinic Setting

Abstract

TPS 631: Metals and health 1, Johan Friso Foyer, Floor 1, August 27, 2019, 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM Consumption of fish low in mercury should be encouraged in reproductive age women because benefits of fish consumption for the fetus, including improved eye and brain development, outweigh risks if fish that are low in mercury are eaten. The Fish are Important for Superior Health Project was designed to intervene with reproductive age women to reduce mercury exposure in an area where elevated exposure in infants has been found. At a clinic visit, 499 women answered detailed questions on fish consumed in the past year and donated blood for mercury and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) measurements. A nurse delivered information on risk and benefits of eating fish and tailored advice on fish consumption based on the information reported by the participant in the survey. Laboratory results were reported to participants through letters from the clinics. After six months, all 15 women with blood mercury levels above the level equivalent to the EPA RfD (5.8 µg/L), and 30 with blood mercury below 5.8 µg/L completed a follow-up visit identical to their initial clinic visit. Longitudinal models tested changes in measures of mercury, DHA and fish intake and adjusted for season of assessment, usual fish portion size and omega-3 fatty acid supplement use. At the 6 month follow up, we found a decline in blood mercury and in consumption of fish species with moderate Hg contamination (>0.22 ppm) that was significantly greater in participants with elevated mercury levels at the initial visit. No change in consumption of low mercury fish or plasma DHA levels was observed in either participant group. This investigation demonstrated the feasibility of administrating a tailored mercury reduction intervention to reproductive age women in a health clinic setting to reduce intake of fish with moderate levels of mercury while maintaining beneficial intake of fish with low levels of mercury.