DOLES DIETARY ARSENIC AND MERCURY AFFECT CUTANEOUS BLEEDING-TIME AND BLOOD-LIPIDS IN HUMANS

Fish species may contain considerable amounts of trace elements, such as selenium (Se), arsenic (As), and mercury (Hg). The present study in vestigated the relationships between dietary intake of these elements and cutaneous bleeding time and blood lipids in 32 healthy volunteers. For 6 wk, one group (n = 11) consumed approx 250 g Se-rich fish daily , providing them with an average Se intake of 115 +/- 31 mu g Se/d, Hg intake of 18 +/- 8 mu g/d, and As intake of 806 +/- 405 mu g/d, all v alues analyzed in 4-d duplicate food collections. To study the effect of Se alone, one group (n = 11) included Se-rich bread in their normal diet, giving them a Se intake (135 +/- 25 mu g/d) that was comparable to the fish group. A control group (n = 10) ate their normal diet, pr oviding 77 +/- 25 mu g Se/d, 3.1 +/- 2.5 mu g Hg/d, and 101 +/- 33 mu g As/d. The dietary As load strongly correlated both with bleeding tim es and changes in bleeding times (r = 0.48, p < 0.01 and r = 0.54, p < 0.002, respectively). Dietary Hg showed a positive correlation with L DL-cholesterol (r = 0.55, p < 0.01), whereas dietary Hg in the fish gr oup showed a strong negative relationship with HDL-cholesterol (r = -0 .76, p < 0.01). Selenium seemed to have only a modest effect on bleedi ng time. Our results suggest that mercury and arsenic from fish may be factors contributing to or modifying some of the known effects of fis h ingestion.