Fig. 1Blood mercury concentrations according to anthropometric parameters. BMI, body mass index; WC, waist circumference; VAT, visceral adipose tissue; TFM, total fat mass. aP<0.05 vs. the lowest group.
Table 1Characteristics of the study subjects according to blood mercury concentrations
Characteristic |
Tertile 1 |
Tertile 2 |
Tertile 3 |
P value |
Mercury range, µg/L |
1.06–2.66 |
2.69–4.43 |
4.46–7.16 |
|
Number |
66 |
67 |
67 |
|
Mercury, µg/La
|
1.90±0.48 |
3.44±0.52 |
6.15±1.31 |
<0.01 |
Age, yr |
48.53±8.38 |
48.69±7.96 |
48.80±8.56 |
0.98 |
Male sex |
15 (22.7) |
30 (44.8) |
51 (76.1) |
<0.01 |
BMI, kg/m2
|
23.88±2.94 |
24.55±3.00 |
25.36±2.61 |
0.01 |
WC, cm |
79.90±8.33 |
82.22±9.38 |
84.44±8.83 |
<0.01 |
VAT mass, g |
745.36±525.30 |
937.42±673.42 |
1,131.47±543.92 |
<0.01 |
VAT volume, cm3
|
790.11±556.77 |
993.69±713.80 |
1,208.14±576.57 |
<0.01 |
TFM, kg |
18.63±5.57 |
19.27±5.64 |
18.68±4.91 |
0.75 |
SBP, mm Hg |
117.09±16.21 |
116.08±14.35 |
122.82±12.00 |
0.02 |
DBP, mm Hg |
74.50±11.57 |
75.06±11.31 |
78.89±8.93 |
0.05 |
FSG, mg/dL |
87.47±9.99 |
87.84±12.20 |
94.91±18.80 |
<0.01 |
TC, mg/dL |
188.86±29.86 |
190.03±33.54 |
196.08±36.44 |
0.41 |
TG, mg/dL |
109.5 (82.3–160.5) |
122.0 (79.0–185.0) |
125.0 (85.5–192.0) |
0.30 |
LDL-C, mg/dL |
113.01±25.96 |
107.89±34.08 |
115.18±36.64 |
0.42 |
HDL-C, mg/dL |
49.58±10.51 |
51.03±14.07 |
46.39±9.28 |
0.06 |
HOMA-IR |
0.91 (0.79–1.11) |
1.04 (0.85–1.21) |
1.12 (0.92–1.41) |
0.03 |
HOMA-β |
96.0 (83.8–118.4) |
103.0 (89.7–125.2) |
103.6 (79.3–112.5) |
0.48 |
Smokingb
|
5 (7.6) |
12 (17.9) |
17 (25.4) |
0.02 |
Alcohol consumptionc |
44 (66.7) |
57 (85.1) |
54 (80.6) |
0.02 |
Regular exercised |
8 (12.1) |
4 (6.0) |
11 (16.4) |
0.12 |
Fish consumption |
|
|
|
|
Rare |
9 (13.6) |
3 (4.5) |
3 (4.5) |
0.30 |
1> time/month |
15 (22.7) |
12 (17.9) |
3 (4.5) |
0.02 |
2–4 time/month |
16 (24.2) |
19 (28.4) |
22 (32.8) |
0.12 |
1> time/week |
26 (39.5) |
33 (49.2) |
39 (58.2) |
0.03 |
Table 2Correlation between blood mercury concentrations and other variables
Variable |
Mercury |
P value |
Age |
0.005 |
0.20 |
Male sex |
0.356 |
<0.01 |
BMI |
0.279 |
<0.01 |
WC |
0.315 |
<0.01 |
VAT |
0.345 |
<0.01 |
TFM |
0.050 |
0.86 |
SBP |
0.259 |
<0.01 |
DBP |
0.243 |
<0.01 |
FSG |
0.195 |
<0.01 |
TC |
0.040 |
0.45 |
TG |
0.116 |
0.09 |
LDL-C |
0.001 |
0.49 |
HDL-C |
−0.140 |
0.05 |
HOMA-IR |
0.230 |
<0.01 |
HOMA- β |
0.001 |
0.79 |
Smoking |
0.211 |
<0.01 |
Alcohol consumption |
0.164 |
0.02 |
Regular exercise |
0.064 |
0.54 |
Fish consumption |
0.118 |
0.04 |
Table 3Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals for high mercury concentrations according to VAT tertile
VAT range, cm3
|
Tertile 1 (205–632) |
Tertile 2 (640–1,139) |
Tertile 3 (1,153–3,052) |
P for trend |
Model 1a
|
1.00 |
2.33
(1.02–5.35) |
6.00
(2.67–13.47) |
<0.01 |
Model 2b
|
1.00 |
1.15
(0.39–3.41) |
2.66
(1.05–6.62) |
<0.05 |