Abstract
Mercury (Hg) has obesogenic properties. However, the associated health outcomes of population-level mercury exposure were unclear. This study investigated the relationships between blood mercury levels and obesity-related outcomes such as hyperlipidemia and elevated liver enzymes. Using the second cycle of the Korean National Environmental Health Survey (n = 6454), we performed logistic regression to examine the effects of Hg on hyperlipidemia and elevated liver enzymes. The blood mercury levels were significantly higher in the hyperlipidemia group (n = 3699, male: 4.03 μg/L, female: 2.83 μg/L) compared to the non-hyperlipidemia group (n = 2755, male: 3.48 μg/L, female: 2.69 μg/L), and high blood mercury levels were associated with an 11% higher risk of hyperlipidemia. The elevated liver enzymes group had higher mean blood mercury levels (n = 1189, male: 4.38 μg/L, female: 3.25 μg/L) than the normal group (n = 5265, male: 3.64 μg/L, female: 2.70 μg/L), and elevated blood mercury was associated with a 35% higher risk of elevated liver enzymes. Moreover, the effect was constant after adjusting for personal medications. These results indicate that mercury exposure is significantly associated with hyperlipidemia and elevated liver enzymes.
Highlights
Obesity is a major risk factor for several chronic diseases, including hypertension, diabetes, and hyperlipidemia, and is a growing concern worldwide
The blood Hg levels were significantly higher in males (GM = 3.70 μg/L)
Blood Hg levels increased until the participants were in their
Summary
Obesity is a major risk factor for several chronic diseases, including hypertension, diabetes, and hyperlipidemia, and is a growing concern worldwide. The prevalence of metabolic syndromes in Korea is approximately 30% due to increasing obesity [1]. Endocrine-disrupting chemicals such as phthalates, phenols, polychlorinated biphenyl (PCBs), and polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDEs) are well-known obesogens [2], and several studies have reported that mercury (Hg) is associated with metabolic syndromes [3,4]. According to the first cycle of the Korean National Environmental Health Survey [5], the geometric mean (GM) of blood Hg among Koreans was 3.08 μg/L, which is high compared to the US (mean: 0.68 μg/L) [6] and Canada (mean: 0.59 μg/L) [7]. Blood Hg levels in Korea have been decreasing for the Toxics 2020, 8, 47; doi:10.3390/toxics8030047 www.mdpi.com/journal/toxics
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