Hair Mercury Levels of Japanese Dental Personnel in Recent Years
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概要
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Mercury levels in scalp hair of 112 male and 20 female dentists and 134 female dental hygienists and assistents were determined by cold-vapor atomic absorption spectrometry to evaluate the mercury absorption as a result of their dental practice and to provide updated data concerning mercury levels of dental practitioners. The control group was made up of 246 persons (110 males and 136 females), all of whom had never been occupationally exposed to mercury.<BR>When a hair sample was collected, a questionnaire was also filled out. The questionnaire items included name, address, sex, age, occupation, frequency of seafood consumption, and, in the case of dental personnel, the number of amalgam fillings administered per week, method of amalgam condensation, years in dental practice, and so on.<BR>The results were as follows:<BR>1) The hair mercury levels of Japanese dental personnel did not manifest any differences with those of the control group in either sex. In 1973, Miyazawa found a significant difference in mean levels between dentists and a control group. However, the present study suggests that the exposure of dental personnel to mercury has decreased to non-occupational levels. For male and female dentists and dental hygienists and assistants, the geometric means were 4.30ppm, 2.37ppm and 1.90ppm, respectively. The geometric means of the control group were 3.85ppm (males) and 2.12ppm (females).<BR>2) The hair mercury levels of all the groups studied (male and female dentists, dental hygienists and assistants, male and female controls) demonstrated a positively skewed distribution and had a logarithmic normal distribution.<BR>3) With respect to the dentists and the control, a statistically significant difference between the sexes was observed.<BR>4) Significant correlations between hair mercury concentrations and age were found in the male dentists (p<0.05), the male controls (p<0.01) and the female dental hygienists and assistants (p<0.01); no correlation was found in the female dentists or the female controls.<BR>5) No significant correlation between hair mercury concentrations of dentists and number of amalgam fillings administered per week was found.<BR>6) Significant differences of hair mercury levels between high and low frequency seafood intake groups were found in both sexes (p<0.05).<BR>7) Of 50 married couples studied, a significant correlation of hair mercury levels between husband and wife was observed (r=0.39, p<0.01).
- 有限責任中間法人 日本口腔衛生学会の論文