Positive Health Online

Abstract

YOSHIZAWA and colleagues, Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA, explored the connections between mercury and the risk of coronary heart disease in men.

Background

A high dietary intake of the metal mercury from the consumption of fish has been thought to increase the risk of heart disease.

Methodology

In a nested case-control design, the association between mercury levels in toenail clippings and the risk of coronary heart disease was investigated in male health professionals with no previous history of heart disease or cancer. Toenail clippings were collected in 1987 from 33,737 cohort members. During the next five years, 470 cases of coronary heart disease were documented. Each patient was matched according to age and smoking habit with a randomly selected control subject.

Results

The mercury levels in these men were significantly correlated with fish consumption (p = 0.001). Also the mean mercury levels were higher in dentists than in non-dentists. However the mercury levels were not significantly associated with coronary heart disease.

Conclusion

These findings do not support the assumption that increased mercury levels increase the risk of coronary heart disease, although a weak relation cannot be ruled out.

References

Yoshizawa K, Rimm EB, Morris JS, Spate VL, Hsieh CC, Spiegelman D, Stampfer MJ, Willett WC. Mercury and the risk of coronary heart disease. The New England Journal of Medicine 347 (22): 1755-1760, Nov 2002.

Comment

The above two studies, one emanating from Johns Hopkins, the other from Harvard, come to the exact opposite conclusion regarding the association of mercury with increased risk of heart attack. How interesting! Such is the nature of research. @i:86