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Query: UMLS:C0848676 (male subfertility)
 265 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The focus of the present study was on the relationship between Hong Kong male subfertility and fish consumption. Mercury concentrations found in the hair of 159 Hong Kong males aged 25-72 (mean age = 37 years) was positively correlated with age and was significantly higher in Hong Kong subjects than in European and Finnish subjects (1.2 and 2.1 ppm, respectively). Mercury in the hair of 117 subfertile Hong Kong males (4.5 ppm, P < 0.05) was significantly higher than mercury levels found in hair collected from 42 fertile Hong Kong males (3.9 ppm). Subfertile males had approx. 40% more mercury in their hair than fertile males of similar age. Although there were only 35 female subjects, they had significantly lower levels of hair mercury than males in similar age groups. Overall, males had mercury levels that were 60% higher than females. Hair samples collected from 16 vegetarians living in Hong Kong (vegans that had consumed no fish, shellfish or meat for at least the last 5 years) had very low levels of mercury. Their mean hair mercury concentration was only 0.38 ppm.
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PMID:Hong Kong male subfertility links to mercury in human hair and fish. 964 24

The average person in Hong Kong consumes fish or shellfish four or more times a week averaging about 60 Kg of fish per year. Even though the mean mercury level in store-bought Hong Kong fish was only 0.12 mg/kg, corroborating evidence is presented from numerous studies to support the view that mercury bioaccumulates. By the time a typical Hong Kong male reaches 30 years of age he will have accumulated approximately 4 mg/kg mercury in his hair. By age 60, his hair mercury levels will have increased to about 7.5 mg/kg. Hair is a useful indicator of mercury exposure. In the U.S. over a million hair samples have been examined for mercury (mean, 1.5 mg/kg). The mean hair mercury concentration for over 200 Hong Kong residents was 3.3 mg/kg which is more than double the U.S. mean (well over one standard deviation above the U.S. mean). Two lines of evidence support the hypothesis that fish is the major source of methyl mercury in the diet of Hong Kong residents. 1. Individuals consuming 4 or more meals of fish per week had a hair mercury of 4.07 mg/kg dry weight of hair while those consuming fish less frequently had significantly lower levels (2.56 mg/kg). 2. Hong Kong residents that consume no fish had only 0.38 mg/kg hair mercury. The World Health Organization has adopted the U.S. EPA levels for mercury and recommends that food with mercury concentrations of 0.5 mg/kg or more should not be sold for human consumption. Data presented in this paper are consistent with the notion that adoption of a 0.3 mg/kg mercury guideline would benefit residents in countries where rates of fish consumption are significantly higher than in the U.S. Japan, for example, has already adopted a 0.3 mg/kg mercury guideline. In Hong Kong there is a significant correlation (p < 0.05) between male subfertility and the level of mercury in the hair of males between the ages of 25 and 75. Our study of individuals who have been eating mercury contaminated fish steadily for many years suggests that a daily mercury intake of only 0.3 to 0.7 mg/kg body weight may be sufficient to inhibit spermatogenesis in some Hong Kong males. Male subfertility has been correlated with both elevated mercury and the presence of various organochlorines in the diet. To determine whether fish sold in Hong Kong with elevated levels of mercury also had elevated levels of organochlorines we analyzed fish for both mercury and organochlorine content of their dorsal muscle tissue. Because analysis of fish tissue for lipids and a wide range of organochlorines is both very time consuming and expensive, only 15 different species of fish were tested. Organochlorine concentrations were low and there was no correlation between mercury and organochlorine in the 15 fish tested for both organochlorines and mercury. As a result of these tests we concluded that mercury could not be ruled out as the principal causal factor associated with the lack of fertility in Hong Kong males.
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PMID:Mercury and organochlorine exposure from fish consumption in Hong Kong. 971 48