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Adverse Health Effects and Mercury Exposure in a Colombian Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining Community
The aim of this study was, first of all, to associate the mercury (Hg) concentrations and respiratory functions of the gold miners in the artisanal small-scale gold mining (ASGM) environment in San Martín de Loba, Colombia. We carried out a cross-sectional study using a survey whereby we collected b...
Autores principales: | , , , , |
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Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
Publicado: |
MDPI
2022
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Materias: | |
Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9782122/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36548556 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/toxics10120723 |
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author | Vergara-Murillo, Fredy González-Ospino, Shirley Cepeda-Ortega, Nazly Pomares-Herrera, Fredy Johnson-Restrepo, Boris |
author_facet | Vergara-Murillo, Fredy González-Ospino, Shirley Cepeda-Ortega, Nazly Pomares-Herrera, Fredy Johnson-Restrepo, Boris |
author_sort | Vergara-Murillo, Fredy |
collection | PubMed |
description | The aim of this study was, first of all, to associate the mercury (Hg) concentrations and respiratory functions of the gold miners in the artisanal small-scale gold mining (ASGM) environment in San Martín de Loba, Colombia. We carried out a cross-sectional study using a survey whereby we collected basic demographic information, occupational medical history, and applied two validated questionnaires (Q16 and SF36). We measured Hg levels in all volunteers using direct thermal decomposition-atomic absorption spectrometry. Univariate and bivariate statistical analyses were carried out for all variables, performing logistic regression to assess the effect of ASGM on health outcomes. Volunteers enrolled (n = 124) were between the ages of 20 and 84 years (84% miners and 79% males). No changes were found in the systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and heart rate from the ASGM miners, in crude and adjusted statistical analyses. ASGM miners increased 8.91 (95% confidence interval, 1.55–95.70) times the risk of having these than of having neurotoxic effects. Concentrations of total whole blood mercury (T-Hg) in all participants ranged from 0.6 to 82.5 with a median of 6.0 μg/L. Miners had higher T-Hg concentrations than non-miners (p-value = 0.011). Normal and abnormal respiratory spirometry patterns showed significant differences with the physical role and physical function of quality-of-life scales (the (p-value was 0.012 and 0.004, respectively). The spirometry test was carried out in 87 male miners, with 25% of these miners reporting abnormalities. Out of these, 73% presented a restrictive spirometry pattern, and 27%, an obstructive spirometry pattern. The ASGM population had higher Hg concentrations and worse neurotoxic symptomatology than non-miners of the same community. |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-9782122 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2022 |
publisher | MDPI |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-97821222022-12-24 Adverse Health Effects and Mercury Exposure in a Colombian Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining Community Vergara-Murillo, Fredy González-Ospino, Shirley Cepeda-Ortega, Nazly Pomares-Herrera, Fredy Johnson-Restrepo, Boris Toxics Article The aim of this study was, first of all, to associate the mercury (Hg) concentrations and respiratory functions of the gold miners in the artisanal small-scale gold mining (ASGM) environment in San Martín de Loba, Colombia. We carried out a cross-sectional study using a survey whereby we collected basic demographic information, occupational medical history, and applied two validated questionnaires (Q16 and SF36). We measured Hg levels in all volunteers using direct thermal decomposition-atomic absorption spectrometry. Univariate and bivariate statistical analyses were carried out for all variables, performing logistic regression to assess the effect of ASGM on health outcomes. Volunteers enrolled (n = 124) were between the ages of 20 and 84 years (84% miners and 79% males). No changes were found in the systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and heart rate from the ASGM miners, in crude and adjusted statistical analyses. ASGM miners increased 8.91 (95% confidence interval, 1.55–95.70) times the risk of having these than of having neurotoxic effects. Concentrations of total whole blood mercury (T-Hg) in all participants ranged from 0.6 to 82.5 with a median of 6.0 μg/L. Miners had higher T-Hg concentrations than non-miners (p-value = 0.011). Normal and abnormal respiratory spirometry patterns showed significant differences with the physical role and physical function of quality-of-life scales (the (p-value was 0.012 and 0.004, respectively). The spirometry test was carried out in 87 male miners, with 25% of these miners reporting abnormalities. Out of these, 73% presented a restrictive spirometry pattern, and 27%, an obstructive spirometry pattern. The ASGM population had higher Hg concentrations and worse neurotoxic symptomatology than non-miners of the same community. MDPI 2022-11-25 /pmc/articles/PMC9782122/ /pubmed/36548556 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/toxics10120723 Text en © 2022 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
spellingShingle | Article Vergara-Murillo, Fredy González-Ospino, Shirley Cepeda-Ortega, Nazly Pomares-Herrera, Fredy Johnson-Restrepo, Boris Adverse Health Effects and Mercury Exposure in a Colombian Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining Community |
title | Adverse Health Effects and Mercury Exposure in a Colombian Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining Community |
title_full | Adverse Health Effects and Mercury Exposure in a Colombian Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining Community |
title_fullStr | Adverse Health Effects and Mercury Exposure in a Colombian Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining Community |
title_full_unstemmed | Adverse Health Effects and Mercury Exposure in a Colombian Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining Community |
title_short | Adverse Health Effects and Mercury Exposure in a Colombian Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining Community |
title_sort | adverse health effects and mercury exposure in a colombian artisanal and small-scale gold mining community |
topic | Article |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9782122/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36548556 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/toxics10120723 |
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