| We evaluate the relationship of umbilical cord total mercury (THg), lead (Pb), selenium (Se), and copper (Cu) concentrations with (1) determinants of exposure; (2) fetal triglyceride, total cholesterol, and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels; and (3) maternal blood pressure (BP) and hypertension. This cross-sectional study includes 300 births; 78 subjects with THg ≥ 2 mug/L also have methyl (MeHg) and inorganic (IHg) mercury data. Main results using adjusted multivariable models are: (1) Geometric means for THg, Pb and Cu: 1.37 mug/L (95% confidence interval: 1.27, 1.48), 0.66 mug/dL (0.61, 0.71) and 38.62 mug/dL (36.73, 40.61), respectively. Arithmetic mean for Se is 70.1 mug/L (68.7, 71.5). Asian mothers have higher THg and Pb, but lower Se and Cu; higher gestational age is related to increased Se and Cu; and higher Pb was related to lower socioeconomic status and living in areas with older housing. (2) There was a non-statistically-significant increase in triglycerides and CRP with IHg, but not THg or MeHg exposure. Increases in Se or Cu have a significant, positive association with triglycerides and CRP. (3) Maternal BP somewhat increased with increasing IHg, but not THg or MeHg; none of these mercury relationships were statistically significant. There was a statistically significant increase in BP related to increasing lead exposure. The selenium-BP relationship is nonlinear: at concentrations 71-90 mug/L there was a statistically significant, positive relationship of selenium with BP; otherwise there was a negative (non-significant) association. In summary, we show that current lead exposure levels are significantly related to increases in maternal BP; and that Se and Cu are related to increases in cardiovascular risk factors but not necessarily across the entire range of their exposures in this population. As this is a relatively small cross-sectional study, these results should be confirmed by future research. |
