Association of Blood Mercury Level and Neurobehavioral Performance in Korean Elementary School Students.
- Author:
Joon SAKONG
1
;
Man Joong JEON
;
Sung Ho YUN
;
Yun Chul HONG
;
Chul Gab LEE
;
Young Ki KIM
;
Mina HA
;
Ho Jang KWON
Author Information
1. Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Yeungnam University Hospital, Korea. jsakong@med.yu.ac.kr
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords:
Blood mercury;
Elementary school students;
Neurobehavioral performance
- MeSH:
Humans;
Reaction Time
- From:Korean Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
2010;22(4):324-330
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:Korean
-
Abstract:
OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted to examine the effect of blood mercury on neurobehavioral performance in Korean elementary school students. METHODS: We measured the blood mercury concentration in 1,077 elementary school students from Seoul, Busan, Daegu and Gwangju, then the students underwent computerized neurobehavioral test. RESULTS: The mean concentration of blood mercury of study subjects was 2.10 microg/L. An increased blood mercury was associated with an increased reaction time in digit addition and symbol digit. CONCLUSIONS: The blood mercury concentration of study subjects was very high compared to findings in a foreign country. We found several associations between blood mercury level and neurobehavioral performance.
