Exposure to mercury and thyroid function: Is there a connection?

Mercury (Hg) is one of the most important environmental pollutants with endocrinedisrupting properties. There is little data from epidemiological studies describing the doseresponse relationship between toxic metal levels and hormone levels. The aim of this study was to use the nearest neighbor matc...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Marić Đurđica, Bonderović Vera, Javorac Dragana, Baralić Katarina, Bulat Zorica, Đukić-Ćosić Danijela, Mandić-Rajčević Stefan, Žarković Miloš, Buha-Đorđević Aleksandra
Format: Article
Language:srp
Published: Pharmaceutical Association of Serbia, Belgrade, Serbia 2022-01-01
Series:Arhiv za farmaciju
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Online Access:https://scindeks-clanci.ceon.rs/data/pdf/0004-1963/2022/0004-19632205468M.pdf
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Summary:Mercury (Hg) is one of the most important environmental pollutants with endocrinedisrupting properties. There is little data from epidemiological studies describing the doseresponse relationship between toxic metal levels and hormone levels. The aim of this study was to use the nearest neighbor matching analysis to determine the difference in Hg concentration in healthy/sick subjects with thyroid disease and to use Benchmark modeling to determine the doseresponse relationship between Hg levels in the blood and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) and thyroid hormones in serum. Blood samples were collected and used for Hg measurement using the ICP-MS method, and separated serum was used for hormone analysis. The study showed the existence of a statistically significant difference in Hg levels measured in healthy and sick subjects and the existence of a dose-response relationship between Hg and all measured hormones, with a narrow interval obtained for the Hg-TSH pair. The results of this research support the use of the Benchmark dose approach for the purpose of analyzing data from human studies, and our further research will be focused on examining the impact of low doses on animal models in order to determine more precise effects of low doses on the organism.
ISSN:0004-1963
2217-8767