Communicating methylmercury risks and fish consumption benefits to vulnerable childbearing populations

JOGNN - Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, and Neonatal Nursing

Volumn 39, Issue 1, 2010, Pages 118-126

  Kuntz, Sandra W ^a   Ricco, Jason A ^b   Hill, Wade G ^a   Anderko, Laura ^c  

^a Montana State University College of Nursing   (United States)

^b UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA   (United States)

^c GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER   (United States)

Author keywords

Childbearing women; Fish consumption; Methylmercury; Precautionary principle; Risk communication; Sensitive populations

Indexed keywords

EID: 73949116361     PISSN: 08842175     EISSN: 15526909     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1111/j.1552-6909.2009.01094.x     Document Type: Article

References (66)

1. 2002, November, http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3006581, American Heart Association, Retrieved from
2. ANA's principles of environmental health for nursing practice with implementation strategies 2007, American Nurses Association, Silver Spring, MD, Author
3. 200011: The precautionary principle and children's health, in policy statements adopted by the governing council of the American Public Health Association, November 15, 2000. American Journal of Public Health 2001, 91((3)):495-496. American Public Health Association
4. 2005, http://www.apha.org/membergroups/newsletters/sectionnewsletters/public_nur/winter06/2550.htm, American Public Health Association Public Health Nursing Section, Retrieved from
5. Anderko L. 2008, Unpublished research report for the Robert Wood Johnson Executive Nurse Fellowship Program, Georgetown University, Washington, DC
6. Anderko L, Koepsel B. Best practices for environmental health. American Journal of Nursing 2009, 109((6)):56-58.
7. Anderson H, Hanrahan L, Smith A, Draheim L, Kanarek M, Olsen J. The role of sport-fish consumption advisories in mercury risk communication: A 1998-1999 12 state survey of women age 18-45. Environmental Research 2004, 95:315-324.
8. 2008, September, http://www.arhp.org/publications-and-resources/quick-reference-guide-for-clinicians/fish-and-health/summary, Association for Reproductive Healthcare Professionals and Physicians for Social Responsibility, Retrieved from
9. Bakir F, Damluji S F, Amin-Zaki L, Murtadha M, Khalidi A, al-Rawi N Y. Methylmercury poisoning in Iraq. Science 1973, 181((96)):230-241.
10. Baldwin L M, Grossman D C, Casey S, Hollow W, Sugarman J R, Freeman W L. Perinatal and infant health among rural and urban American Indians/Alaska Natives. American Journal of Public Health 2002, 92((9)):1491-1497.
11. Berner J. 2009, March, Symposium conducted at the meeting of the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Native American Child Health Third International Meeting on Indigenous Child Health: Many Voices into One Song, Albuquerque, NM
12. Bernstein E. 2006, October, http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06291/730990-114.stm, Holy mackerel! Fish is good for you. Retrieved October from
13. Bourre J M. Dietary omega-3 fatty acids for women. Biomedical Pharmacotherapeutics 2007, 61((2/3)):105-112.
14. Budtz-Jorgensen E, Keiding N, Grandjean P, Weihe P. Estimation of health effects of prenatal methylmercury exposure using structural equation models. Environmental Health: A Global Access Science Source 2002, 1((2)):1-22.
15. Burger J, Gochfeld M, Powers C W, Waishwell L, Warren C, Goldstein B D. Science, policy, stakeholders, and fish consumption advisories: Developing a fish fact sheet for the Savannah River. Environmental Management 2001, 27((4)):501-514.
16. Caldwell K L, Mortensen M E, Jones R L, Caudill S P, Osterloh J D. Total blood mercury concentrations in the U.S. population: 1999-2006. International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health 2009, 212((6)):588-598. doi, 10.1016/j/ijheh.2009.04.004
17. Blood and hair mercury levels in young children and women of childbearing age-United States, 1999. Mortality Morbidity Weekly Report 2001, 50((8)):140-143. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
18. Blood mercury levels in young children and childbearing aged women-United States, 1999-2002. Mortality Morbidity Weekly Report 2004, 53((43)):1018-1020. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
19. Chalupka S. Environmental health: An opportunity for health promotion and disease prevention. American Journal of Occupational Health Nursing 2005, 53((1)):13-28. quiz 29-30
20. Chaudry R V. The precautionary principle, public health, and public health nursing. Public Health Nursing 2008, 25((3)):261-268.
21. Clarkson T. Three modern faces of mercury. Environmental Health Perspectives 2002, 110((Suppl. 1)):11-23.
22. Davidson P W, Myers G J, Cox C, Axtell C, Shamlaye C, Sloane-Reeves J. Effects of prenatal and postnatal methylmercury exposure from fish consumption on neurodevelopment: Outcomes at 66 months of age in the Seychelles Child Development Study. Journal of the American Medical Association 1998, 280((8)):701-707.
23. Dellinger J. Exposure assessment and initial intervention regarding fish consumption of tribal members of the Upper Great Lakes Region in the United States. Environmental Research 2004, 95:325-340.
24. Dovydaitis T. Fish consumption during pregnancy: An overview of the risks and benefits. Journal of Midwifery and Women's Health 2008, 53((4)):325-330.
25. Gebauer S K, Psota T L, Harris W S, Kris-Etherton P M. n-3 fatty acid dietary recommendations and food sources to achieve essentiality and cardiovascular benefits. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2006, 83((6, Suppl.)):1526S-1535S.
26. Genius S. To sea or not to sea: Benefits and risks of gestational fish consumption. Reproductive Toxicology 2008, 26:81-85. doi, 10.1016/j.reprotox.2008.08.002
27. Goldman L, Shannon M. American Academy of Pediatrics and the Committee on Environmental Health: Technical report-Mercury in the environment: Implications for pediatricians. Pediatrics 2001, 108((1)):197-205.
28. Grandjean P, Weihe P, White R F, Debes F. Cognitive performance of children prenatally exposed to " safe" levels of methylmercury. Environmental Research 1998, 77((2)):165-172.
29. Grandjean P, White R, Nielsen A, Cleary D, de Oliveira Santos E. Methylmercury neurotoxicity in Amazonian children downstream from gold mining. Environmental Health Perspectives 1999, 107((7)):587-591.
30. Gurabardhi Z, Gutteling J M, Kuttschreuter M. The development of risk communication: An empirical analysis of the literature in the field. Science Communication 2004, 25((4)):323-349.
31. Harada M. Minamata disease: Methylmercury poisoning in Japan caused by environmental pollution. Critical Reviews in Toxicology 1995, 25((1)):1-24.
32. Seafood choices: Balancing benefits and risks 2006, Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, Washington, DC, National Academies Press
33. Jardine C. Development of a public participation and communication protocol for establishing fish consumption advisories. Risk Analysis 2003, 23((3)):461-471.
34. Kasperson R E, Renn O, Slovic P, Brown H S, Emel J, Goble R. The social amplification of risk: A conceptual framework. Risk Analysis 1988, 8((2)):177-187.
35. Knobeloch L, Anderson H A, Imm P, Peters D, Smith A. Fish consumption, advisory awareness, and hair mercury levels among women of childbearing age. Environmental Research 2005, 97((2)):220-227.
36. Knobeloch L, Gliori G, Anderson H. Assessment of methylmercury exposure in Wisconsin. Environmental Research 2007, 103((2)):205-210.
37. Kuntz S W, Hill W G, Linkenbach J W, Lande G, Larsson L. Methylmercury risk and awareness among American Indian women of childbearing age living on an inland northwest reservation. Environmental Research 2009, 109((6)):753-759. doi, 10.1016/j.envres.2009.04.007
38. Landrigan P, Kimmel C, Correa A, Eskenazi B. Children's health and the environment: Public health issues and challenges for risk assessment. Environmental Health Perspectives 2004, 112((2)):257-265.
39. Landrigan P J, Schechter C B, Lipton J M, Fahs M C, Schwartz J. Environmental pollutants and disease in American children: Estimates of morbidity, mortality, and costs for lead poisoning, asthma, cancer, and developmental disabilities. Environmental Health Perspectives 2002, 110((7)):721-728.
40. Mahaffey K R. http://www.epa.gov/watersicence/fish/forum/2004/proceedings.pdf, (2004, January 25-28). San Diego: National Service Center for Environmental Publications, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Retrieved from
41. Mahaffey K, Clickner R, Jeffries R. Adult women's blood mercury concentrations vary regionally in the United States: Association with patterns of fish consumption (NHANES 1999-2004). Environmental Health Perspectives 2009, 117((1)):47-53.
42. Marsh D O, Clarkson T W, Cox C, Myers G J, Amin-Zaki L, Al-Tikriti S. Fetal methylmercury poisoning. Relationship between concentration in single strands of maternal hair and child effects. Archives of Neurology 1987, 44((10)):1017-1022.
43. Martuzzi M, Tickner J A. 2004, http://www.euro.who.int/document/eehc/ebakdoc09.pdf, Paper presented at the Fourth Ministerial conference on Environment and Health. June 23-25, 2004. Retrieved from
44. McComas K. When even the " best-laid" plans go wrong. EMBO Reports 2004, 5((Spec No)):S61-S65.
45. McKeown-Eyssen G E, Ruedy J, Neims A. Methylmercury exposure in northern Quebec. II. Neurologic findings in children. American Journal of Epidemiology 1983, 118((4)):470-479.
46. Toxicological effects of methylmercury 2000, National Research Council, Washington, DC, National Academy Press
47. 2008, http://www.nrdc.org/health/effects/mercury/index.asp, Natural Resources Defense Council, Retrieved from
48. Oken E, Radesky J, Wright R, Bellinger D, Amarasiriwardena C, Kleinman K. Maternal fish intake during pregnancy, blood mercury levels, and child cognition at age 3 years in a US cohort. American Journal of Epidemiology 2008, 167:1171-1181. doi, 10.1093/aje/kwn034
49. Peters R G, Covello V T, McCallum D B. The determinants of trust and credibility in environmental risk communication: An empirical study. Risk Analysis 1997, 17((1)):43-54.
50. Ricco J A, Anderko L, Anderson H A. 2008, Unpublished manuscript, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health
51. Schober S, Sinks T, Jones R, Bolger M, McDowell M, Osterloh J. Blood mercury levels in US children and women of childbearing age, 1999-2000. Journal of the American Medical Association 2003, 289((13)):1667-1674.
52. 2006, October, http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=20061018&slug=fish18, Seattle Times News Service, Report says benefits of fish outweigh risks. Retrieved from
53. Silver E, Kaslow J, Lee D, Lee S, Lynn Tan M, Weis E. Fish consumption and advisory awareness among low-income women in California's Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Environmental Research 2007, 104((3)):410-419.
54. Sunderland E M. Mercury exposure from domestic and imported estuarine and marine fish in the United States seafood market. Environmental Health Perspectives 2007, 115((2)):235-242. doi, 10.1289/ehp.9377
55. Sunderland E M, Krabbenhoft D P, Moreau J W, Strode S A, Landing W M. Mercury sources, distribution, and bioavailability in the North Pacific Ocean: Insights from data and models. Global Biogeochemical Cycles 2009, 23, GB2010, 1-14. doi, 10.1029/2008GB003425
56. Tilden J, Hanrahan L P, Anderson H, Palit C, Olson J, Kenzie W M. Health advisories for consumers of Great Lakes sport fish: Is the message being received? Environmental Health Perspectives 1997, 105((12)):1360-1365.
57. 2002, http://www.chem.unep.ch/MERCURY/Report/Final%20Assessment%20report.htm, United Nations Environment Programme, Retrieved from
58. Mercury study report to congress. Volume I: Executive summary 1997a, United States Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, Author
59. Mercury study report to congress. Volume V: Health effects of mercury and mercury compounds 1997b, United States Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, Author
60. Study of hazardous or pollutant emissions from electric utility steam generating units: Final Report to Congress, ES-5 1998, United States Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, Author
61. 2001, http://www.epa.gov/iris/subst/0073.htm, United States Environmental Protection Agency, Retrieved from
62. 2007, http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/fish/advisories/, United States Environmental Protection Agency, Retrieved from
63. Wardman J K. The constitution of risk communication in advanced liberal societies. Risk Analysis 2008, 28((6)):1619-1637.
64. Watanabe C, Satoh H. Evolution of our understanding of methylmercury as a health threat. Environmental Health Perspectives 1995, 104((Suppl. 2)):367-379.
65. Wilson S, Suk W. Biomarkers of environmentally associated disease: Technologies, concepts, and perspectives 2002, Boca Raton, FL, CRC Press
66. Woodruff T, Axelrad D, Kyle A, Nweke O, Miller G. America's children and the environment: Measures of contaminants, body burdens, and illnesses (No. EPA 240-R-03-002) 2003, Washington, DC, Environmental Protection Agency