Estimation of the Biological Half-Life of Methylmercury Using a Population Toxicokinetic Model

Seongil Jo, Hae Dong Woo, Ho-Jang Kwon, Se-Young Oh, Jung-Duck Park, Young-Seoub Hong, Heesoo Pyo, Kyung Su Park, Mina Ha, Ho Kim, Seok-Joon Sohn, Yu-Mi Kim, Ji-Ae Lim, Sang-Ah Lee, Sang-Yong Eom, Byoung-Gwon Kim, Kyoung-Mu Lee, Jong-Hyeon Lee, Myung Sil Hwang and Jeongseon Kim
Additional contact information
Seongil Jo: Molecular Epidemiology Branch, National Cancer Center, Goyang 410-769, Korea
Hae Dong Woo: Molecular Epidemiology Branch, National Cancer Center, Goyang 410-769, Korea
Ho-Jang Kwon: Department of Preventive Medicine, College of Medicine, Dankook University, Cheonan 330-714, Korea
Se-Young Oh: Department of Food and Nutrition, College of Human Ecology, Kyung Hee University, Seoul 130-701, Korea
Jung-Duck Park: Department of Preventive Medicine, College of Medicine, Chung-Ang University, Seoul 156-756, Korea
Young-Seoub Hong: Department of Preventive Medicine and Heavy Metal Exposure Environmental Health Center, Dong-A University, Busan 602-714, Korea
Heesoo Pyo: Molecular Recognition Research Center, Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Seoul 130-722, Korea
Kyung Su Park: Advanced Analysis Center, Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Seoul 130-722, Korea
Mina Ha: Department of Preventive Medicine, College of Medicine, Dankook University, Cheonan 330-714, Korea
Ho Kim: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public health, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-742, Korea
Seok-Joon Sohn: Department of Preventive Medicine, College of Medicine, Chonnam National University, Gwangju 501-746, Korea
Yu-Mi Kim: Department of Preventive Medicine and Heavy Metal Exposure Environmental Health Center, Dong-A University, Busan 602-714, Korea
Ji-Ae Lim: Department of Preventive Medicine, College of Medicine, Dankook University, Cheonan 330-714, Korea
Sang-Ah Lee: Department of Preventive Medicine, School of Medicine, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon 200-701, Korea
Sang-Yong Eom: Department of Preventive Medicine, College of Medicine, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju 362-763, Korea
Byoung-Gwon Kim: Department of Preventive Medicine and Heavy Metal Exposure Environmental Health Center, Dong-A University, Busan 602-714, Korea
Kyoung-Mu Lee: Department of Environmental Health, Korea National Open University, Seoul 110-791, Korea
Jong-Hyeon Lee: Institute of Environmental Safety and Protection, NeoEnBiz Co., Bucheon 420-130, Korea
Myung Sil Hwang: Food Safety Risk Assessment Division, National Institute of Food and Drug Safety Evaluation, Cheongwon 363-700, Korea
Jeongseon Kim: Molecular Epidemiology Branch, National Cancer Center, Goyang 410-769, Korea

IJERPH, 2015, vol. 12, issue 8, 1-14

Abstract: Methylmercury is well known for causing adverse health effects in the brain and nervous system. Estimating the elimination constant derived from the biological half-life of methylmercury in the blood or hair is an important part of calculating guidelines for methylmercury intake. Thus, this study was conducted to estimate the biological half-life of methylmercury in Korean adults. We used a one-compartment model with a direct relationship between methylmercury concentrations in the blood and daily dietary intake of methylmercury. We quantified the between-person variability of the methylmercury half-life in the population, and informative priors were used to estimate the parameters in the model. The population half-life of methylmercury was estimated to be 80.2 ± 8.6 days. The population mean of the methylmercury half-life was 81.6 ± 8.4 days for men and 78.9 ± 8.6 days for women. The standard deviation of the half-life was estimated at 25.0 ± 8.6 days. Using the direct relationship between methylmercury concentrations in blood and methylmercury intake, the biological half-life in this study was estimated to be longer than indicated by the earlier studies that have been used to set guideline values.

Keywords: biological half-life; dietary exposure; methylmercury; one-compartment toxicokinetic model; population model (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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