Total mercury in hair as biomarker for methylmercury exposure among women in central Sweden– a 23 year long temporal trend study

Abstract Exposure to methylmercury (MeHg) through fish is a global public health problem. Exposure monitoring is essential for health risk assessment, especially in pregnant women and children due to the documented neurotoxicity. Herein, we evaluate a time series of MeHg exposure via fish in primiparous Swedish women, covering a time period of 23 years (1996-2019). The 655 included mothers were part of the POPUP study (Persistent Organic Pollutants in Uppsala Primiparas) conducted by the Swedish Food Agency (SFA). MeHg exposure was assessed via measurements of total mercury (Hg) in hair using either cold vapour atomic fluorescence spectrophotometry or inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, showing very good linear agreement (R2=0.97). Maternal characteristics and fish consumption were obtained via questionnaires. The median concentration of total Hg in hair was 0.38 mg/kg (range 0.17-1.5) in 1996 and 0.25 mg/kg (range 0.03-1.1) in 2019. On average the women consumed 11±8.2 meals of fish per month, and fish consumption was positively correlated with total Hg in hair (Spearman correlation: 0.39; p