{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,31]],"date-time":"2025-12-31T15:00:27Z","timestamp":1767193227668,"version":"3.32.0"},"reference-count":45,"publisher":"American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene","issue":"1","content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,8]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>ABSTRACT.<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>Mercury, a potent toxin that poses serious risks to human health, particularly for pregnant women and young children, is widely present due to artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM), which impacts water quality. The objective of this study was to evaluate methylmercury exposure among pregnant women in communities downstream from ASGM sites. We characterized hair total mercury (THg) concentrations among 148 pregnant women across 24 communities in the Tumbes region of Peru, downstream from ASGM sites in Ecuador. Using purposeful sampling, we classified communities into three exposure risk zones: Puyango-Tumbes River watershed, Coast, and Zarumilla. The mean THg concentration was 2.08\u2009<jats:italic>\u00b5<\/jats:italic>g\/g \u00b1 1.36, with 45% of participants (67\/148) exceeding UNEP\/WHO exposure limits (&gt;2.0\u2009<jats:italic>\u00b5<\/jats:italic>g\/g). The median was 1.84 with an interquartile range (IQR) from 1.01 to 2.83. Median THg levels were significantly higher in the Puyango-Tumbes River region (2.72\u2009<jats:italic>\u00b5<\/jats:italic>g\/g; IQR: 1.66\u20133.55) compared with Zarumilla (1.61\u2009<jats:italic>\u00b5<\/jats:italic>g\/g; IQR: 0.67\u20132.63; <jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic> = 0.001) and to the Coast (1.71\u2009<jats:italic>\u00b5<\/jats:italic>g\/g; IQR: 1.13\u20132.50; <jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic> = 0.01), suggesting that living close to the Puyango-Tumbes River may be associated with a higher mercury exposure risk. After controlling for potential confounders, individuals in the Puyango-Tumbes watershed exhibited a significant 57% higher expected geometric mean of hair THg compared with Zarumilla (95% CI: 0.1\u2013146.2%). These findings underscore the importance of identifying high-risk regional populations and ongoing biomonitoring of the Puyango-Tumbes River watershed.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.4269\/ajtmh.24-0142","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,11,12]],"date-time":"2024-11-12T19:29:00Z","timestamp":1731439740000},"page":"217-225","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Mercury Levels in Hair of Pregnant Women in Tumbes, Peru: A Cross-Sectional Study"],"prefix":"10.4269","volume":"112","author":[{"given":"Sofia","family":"Chapela-Lara","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Public Health, Oregon Health and Science University\u2014Portland State University, Portland, Oregon;"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Olivia","family":"Arar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Public Health, Oregon Health and Science University\u2014Portland State University, Portland, Oregon;"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Lauralee","family":"Fernandez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Public Health, Oregon Health and Science University\u2014Portland State University, Portland, Oregon;"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Denys","family":"Villarreal-Palacios","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru;"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Percy","family":"Vilchez-Barreto","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru;"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ricardo","family":"Gamboa-Moran","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru;"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Sarah E.","family":"Rothenberg","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Health, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon;"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"William K.","family":"Pan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Duke University Global Health Institute and Nicholas School of Environment, Durham, North Carolina"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Seth E.","family":"O\u2019Neal","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Public Health, Oregon Health and Science University\u2014Portland State University, Portland, Oregon;"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"2795","reference":[{"year":"2016","series-title":"Implementing Integrated Measures for Minimizing Mercury Releases from Artisanal Gold Mining in Ecuador","author":"Viega","key":"b1"},{"key":"b2","series-title":"Curr Environ Health Rep","first-page":"303","article-title":"Cyanide contamination of the 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