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Fish consumption habits of pregnant women in Itaituba, Tapajós River basin, Brazil: risks of mercury contamination as assessed by measuring total mercury in highly consumed piscivore fish species and in hair of pregnant women

Ricardo Bezerra de Oliveira
Ricardo Bezerra de Oliveira
, 
Domingas Machado da Silva
Domingas Machado da Silva
, 
Thamilles Santa Bárbara Sousa Franco
Thamilles Santa Bárbara Sousa Franco
, 
Cláudio Ramon Sena Vasconcelos
Cláudio Ramon Sena Vasconcelos
, 
Deise Juliane dos Anjos de Sousa
Deise Juliane dos Anjos de Sousa
, 
Sandra Layse Ferreira Sarrazin
Sandra Layse Ferreira Sarrazin
, 
Mineshi Sakamoto
Mineshi Sakamoto
 and 
Jean-Paul Bourdineaud
Jean-Paul Bourdineaud
   | Jul 07, 2022
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Article Category: Original article
Published Online: Jul 07, 2022
Page range: 131 - 142
Received: Nov 01, 2021
Accepted: May 01, 2022
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/aiht-2022-73-3611
© 2022 Ricardo Bezerra de Oliveira, Domingas Machado da Silva, Thamilles Santa Bárbara Sousa Franco, Cláudio Ramon Sena Vasconcelos, Deise Juliane dos Anjos de Sousa, Sandra Layse Ferreira Sarrazin, Mineshi Sakamoto, and Jean-Paul Bourdineaud, published by Sciendo
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Figure 1

Geographical position of Itaituba
Geographical position of Itaituba

Figure 2

Variations of the Tapajós River water levels (cm) in Itaituba from July 2018 to June 2019
Variations of the Tapajós River water levels (cm) in Itaituba from July 2018 to June 2019

Figure 3

Relationship between mercury concentration and weight and total length of fish caught and consumed in Itaituba. Left columns: Cichla spp. (tucunaré; n=48); right columns: P. squamosissimus (pescada; n=48)
Relationship between mercury concentration and weight and total length of fish caught and consumed in Itaituba. Left columns: Cichla spp. (tucunaré; n=48); right columns: P. squamosissimus (pescada; n=48)

Figure 4

Distribution of participants by residence in and around Itaituba along the Tapajós River (Amazon, Brazil). The left panel shows residences as green dots. The lower part of the right panel shows the legend, translated as follows: Itaituba (Cidade de Itaituba); Urban area (Área urbana); Rural zone (Zona rural); Other cities (Outras cidades); Access roads (Vias deacesso) ; Water (Hidrographia); the Tapajós River (Rio Tapajós) ; Pará Municipalities (Municipios do Pará); State of Amazonas (Estado do Amazonas)
Distribution of participants by residence in and around Itaituba along the Tapajós River (Amazon, Brazil). The left panel shows residences as green dots. The lower part of the right panel shows the legend, translated as follows: Itaituba (Cidade de Itaituba); Urban area (Área urbana); Rural zone (Zona rural); Other cities (Outras cidades); Access roads (Vias deacesso) ; Water (Hidrographia); the Tapajós River (Rio Tapajós) ; Pará Municipalities (Municipios do Pará); State of Amazonas (Estado do Amazonas)

Hair THg levels in participating pregnant women from Itaituba and distribution of increased health risks from Hg exposure by fish consumption

Fish consumption (g/week) Hair THg (mg/kg, mean ± SD) Risk rate based on US EPA RfD a Risk rate based on LOAEHC b
0–100 (n=37) 1.1±0.9 0.7 (33 %) 2.3 (83 %)
101–200 (n=25) 1.7±1.3 1.7 (58 %) 5.7 (87 %)
201–400 (n=24) 1.6±1.3 1.1 (54 %) 3.8 (100 %)
> 400 (n=22) 2.4±2.2* 1.2 (57 %) 3.9 (100 %)

Total mercury concentrations (mg/kg) in Cichla spp. (tucunaré) and P. squamosissimus (pescada) fish caught in the Tapajós River basin, Brazil

Dry season (July – December 2018) Rainy season (January – June 2019)
Cichla spp. (n=26) P. squamosissimus (n=24) Cichla spp. (n=24) P. squamosissimus (n=24)
Mean ± SD 0.62±0.35 0.73±0.37 0.39±0.21* 0.54±0.37
Min–max 0.17–1.68 0.05–1.37 0.12–0.94 0.25–1.65
Median 0.59 0.83 0.29 0.89
25th quartile 0.39 0.55 0.24 0.55
75th quartile 0.75 0.92 0.54 1.12

Relationship between socio-demographic characteristics of participating pregnant women from Itaituba and hair THg concentrations (mg/kg)

n % Hair THg (mean ± SD)
Age 18–20 40 36.4 2.3±3.5
21–30 57 51.8 1.6±1.4
31–40 13 11.8 1.5±2.3
Schooling Elementary school 54 49.2 2.1±2.3
High school 38 34.5 1.7±2.1
Academic education 18 16.3 1.5±2.3
Marital status Married or living as married 85 77.2 1.5±1.7
Single 25 22.8 2.5±4.3
Race White 2 1.8 0.6±0.01
Black 7 6.3 3.9±6.3
Mixed race 101 91.9 1.7±1.9
Occupation Housewife 90 81.9 1.8±2.0
Student 7 6.3 3.6±6.4
Other occupation 13 11.8 1.3±1.5

Biometric parameters in two predator fish species from the Tapajós River basin, Amazon, Brazil

Biometric parameters Dry season Rainy season
Mean ± SD Min–Max Mean ± SD Min–Max
Plagioscion squamosissimus Weight (g) 224±40 150–315 207±32 149–261
Total length (cm) 27.2±0.5 25.0–30.5 27.1±1.2 25.4–29.7
Standard length (cm) 22.4±1.4 20.1–24.8 22.4±1.2 20.7–25.4
Cichla spp. Weight (g) 344±129 195–792 271±69 194–406
Total length (cm) 29.4±3.1 25.0–38.5 27.8±2.0 25.5–32.1
Standard length (cm) 24.5±2.8 20.7–32 23.2±1.7 21.0–27.3

Relationship between body mass index (BMI) of participating pregnant women from Itaituba and hair THg concentration (mg/kg)

BMI Weight status n Hair THg (mean ± SD)
18.5–24.9 normal 33 1.9±2.8
25.0–29.9 overweight 49 1.8±2.7
30.0–39.9 obese 24 1.8±1.4
≥40.0 severe obesity 4 1.4±0.6

Fish species consumed by pregnant women (n=110) from Itaituba, Brazil

Fish local name (species) Participants reporting eating listed fish (N) % Fish description by diet
Tambaqui (Colossoma macropomum) 90 82 Frugivore
Pescada branca (Plagioscion squamosissimus) 74 67 Piscivore
Pacú (Serrassalmidae spp.) 60 54 Frugivore
Tucunaré (Cichla spp.) 49 44 Piscivore
Aracú (Leporinus spp.) 41 37 Omnivore
Caratinga (Geophagus spp.) 40 36 Omnivore
Surubim (Pseudoplatystoma spp.) 37 33 Piscivore
Charutinho (Hemiodus spp.) 33 30 Omnivore
Dourada (Brachyplatystoma rousseauxii) 33 30 Carnivore
Filhote (Brachyplatystoma filamentosum) 33 30 Carnivore
Pirarucu (Arapaima gigas) 30 27 Piscivore
Curimatá (Prochilodus nigricans) 28 25 Detritivore
Acari (Pterygoplichthys spp.) 22 20 Detritivore
Matrinxã (Brycon spp.) 22 20 Omnivore
Aruanã (Osteoglossum bicirrhosum) 21 19 Carnivore
Pirarara (Phractocephalus hemioliopterus) 21 19 Omnivore
Apapá (Pellona spp.) 18 16 Carnivore
Piau (Anostomidae spp.) 16 14 Detritivore
Pirapitinga (Piaractus brachypomus) 16 14 Frugivore
Jaraqui (Semaprochilodus spp.) 2 2 Detritivore
Mapará (Hypophthalmus spp.) 2 2 Planktivore

Relationship between blood pressure in participating pregnant women from Itaituba and hair THg concentration (μg/g)

Blood pressure (mmHg, mean ± SD)a n Fish intake (g/week) Hair THg (mg/kg, mean ± SD)
Systolic Diastolic
101±7 65±6 40 0–100 1.1±0.9
103±8 68±8 26 101–200 1.7±1.3
101±10 67±5 23 201–400 1.6±1.3
103±12 69±10 21 401–800 2.43±2.2
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