Abstract

(Introduction):  The contamination, exposure, and risk of mercury (Hg) are a fundamental issue in the definition of research strategies for the improvement of environmental health, especially in Latin America where the problem has been mostly related to the informality of artisanal and small-scale gold mining and the scarcity of safety and environmental protection measures. A bibliographic review was carried out without meta-analysis of scientific research published between 2015 and 2021, in journals retrieved from Scopus and Science Direct.

(Objective):   To provide scientific evidence on exposure to mercury and its effects on health from published scientific research.

(Methodology):  The standardized search steps referring to the guide of the Spanish Association of Nursing in Palliative Care (AECPAL) were followed; In addition, the validity and precision of each article was verified, making complementary use of a version adapted from GRADE to observational studies.

(Results):  Very high blood mercury concentrations were found in workers in the gold industry and fluorescent lamps, ranging from 13.16 µg/L to 54.05 µg/L. Teratogenic effects associated with fetal death, congenital anomaly, spontaneous delivery and growth restriction are indicated, and in the occupationally exposed population they were cognitive deterioration, hypercholesteremia, infertility, autism and neural tube defects.

(Conclusions):  The concentration values of mercury in blood and its effects on health are notably variable among the studies, but the main social activities that involve exposure and its associated effects have been evidenced.

Keywords: environmental epidemiology; health effects; mercury exposure