Indexed in

License and use

Citations

Cited 12 times in

Altmetrics

Grant support

This research was funded by the Vice-Presidency of Environment, Care and Health Promotion (VPPAS) of Fundacao Oswaldo Cruz (Fiocruz) through Decentralized Execution of Resources Document No. 175/2018, Process: 25000.209221/2018-18, signed between the Fiocruz and the Special Department for Indigenous Health, both under the Ministry of Health. The non-governmental organization WWF-Brazil offered financial support to disseminate the results of the research.

Analysis of institutional authors

Share

Mercury Exposure in Munduruku Indigenous Communities from Brazilian Amazon: Methodological Background and an Overview of the Principal Results

Publicated to:International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 18 (17): 9222- - 2021-09-01 18(17), DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18179222

Authors: Basta, Paulo Cesar; de Sousa Viana, Paulo Victor; Santiago de Vasconcellos, Ana Claudia; Santos Perisse, Andre Reynaldo; Hofer, Cristina Barroso; Paiva, Natalia Santana; Kempton, Joseph William; de Andrade, Daniel Ciampi; Ayres de Oliveira, Rogerio Adas; Achatz, Rafaela Waddington; Perini, Jamila Alessandra; de Moura Meneses, Heloisa do Nascimento; Hallwass, Gustavo; Lima, Marcelo de Oliveira; de Jesus, Iracina Maura; Ribeiro dos Santos, Cleidiane Carvalho; Hacon, Sandra de Souza;

Affiliations

Abstract

The Amazonian indigenous peoples depend on natural resources to live, but human activities' growing impacts threaten their health and livelihoods. Our objectives were to present the principal results of an integrated and multidisciplinary analysis of the health parameters and assess the mercury (Hg) exposure levels in indigenous populations in the Brazilian Amazon. We carried out a cross-sectional study based on a census of three Munduruku indigenous villages (Sawre Muybu, Poxo Muybu, and Sawre Aboy), located in the Sawre Muybu Indigenous Land, between 29 October and 9 November 2019. The investigation included: (i) sociodemographic characterization of the participants; (ii) health assessment; (iii) genetic polymorphism analysis; (iv) hair mercury determination; and (v) fish mercury determination. We used the logistic regression model with conditional Prevalence Ratio (PR), with the respective 95% confidence intervals (CI95%) to explore factors associated with mercury exposure levels >= 6.0 mu g/g. A total of 200 participants were interviewed. Mercury levels (197 hair samples) ranged from 1.4 to 23.9 mu g/g, with significant differences between the villages (Kruskal-Wallis test: 19.9; p-value < 0.001). On average, the general prevalence of Hg exposure >= 6.0 mu g/g was 57.9%. For participants >= 12 years old, the Hg exposure >= 6.0 mu g/g showed associated with no regular income (PR: 1.3; CI95%: 1.0-1.8), high blood pressure (PR: 1.6; CI95%: 1.3-2.1) and was more prominent in Sawre Aboy village (PR: 1.8; CI95%: 1.3-2.3). For women of childbearing age, the Hg exposure >= 6.0 mu g/g was associated with high blood pressure (PR: 1.9; CI95%: 1.2-2.3), with pregnancy (PR: 1.5; CI95%: 1.0-2.1) and was more prominent among residents in Poxo Muybu (PR: 1.9; CI95%: 1.0-3.4) and Sawre Aboy (PR: 2.5; CI95%: 1.4-4.4) villages. Our findings suggest that chronic mercury exposure causes harmful effects to the studied indigenous communities, especially considering vulnerable groups of the population, such as women of childbearing age. Lastly, we propose to stop the illegal mining in these areas and develop a risk management plan that aims to ensure the health, livelihoods, and human rights of the indigenous people from Amazon Basin.

Keywords