Seafood consumption, mercury exposure not tied to mortality

(HealthDay)—Seafood consumption and associated mercury exposure are not significantly associated with the risk for mortality, according to a study published online Nov. 29 in JAMA Network Open.

Yangbo Sun, M.D., Ph.D., from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis, and colleagues examined the associations of seafood consumption and mercury exposure with all-cause and cardiovascular disease (CVD)-related mortality. The analysis included data from 17,294 adult participants (≥20 years) in the 2003 to 2012 cycles of the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, with data linked to mortality records through 2015.

The researchers found that for an increase in seafood consumption of 1 ounce equivalent per day, there was no increase in all-cause mortality (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 0.84; 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 0.66 to 1.07) or CVD-related mortality (aHR, 0.89; 95 percent CI, 0.54 to 1.47). There was no association observed between blood mercury level and all-cause or CVD-related mortality (highest versus lowest quartile of blood mercury concentration: aHR, 0.82 [95 percent CI, 0.66 to 1.05] for all-cause mortality; aHR, 0.90 [95 percent CI, 0.53 to 1.52] for CVD-related mortality).

"Environmental mercury exposure at the currently low-to-moderate level and seafood consumption were not associated with risk of all-cause or CVD-related mortality," the authors write.

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