Ethnic Kawasaki Disease Risk Associated with Blood Mercury and Cadmium in U.S. Children

Deniz Yeter, Michael A. Portman, Michael Aschner, Marcelo Farina, Wen-Ching Chan, Kai-Sheng Hsieh and Ho-Chang Kuo
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Deniz Yeter: Kawasaki Disease Center, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Niaosong, Kaohsiung 83301, Taiwan
Michael A. Portman: Division of Cardiology, Department of Pediatrics, Seattle Children’s Research Institute, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98101, USA
Michael Aschner: Department of Molecular Pharmacology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Yeshiva University, Bronx, NY 10461, USA
Marcelo Farina: Departamento de Bioquímica, Centro de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, Santa Catarina 88040, Brazil
Wen-Ching Chan: Kawasaki Disease Center, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Niaosong, Kaohsiung 83301, Taiwan
Kai-Sheng Hsieh: Kawasaki Disease Center, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Niaosong, Kaohsiung 83301, Taiwan
Ho-Chang Kuo: Kawasaki Disease Center, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Niaosong, Kaohsiung 83301, Taiwan

IJERPH, 2016, vol. 13, issue 1, 1-14

Abstract: Kawasaki disease (KD) primarily affects children <5 years of age (75%–80%) and is currently the leading cause of acquired heart disease in developed nations. Even when residing in the West, East Asian children are 10 to 20 times more likely to develop KD. We hypothesized cultural variations influencing pediatric mercury (Hg) exposure from seafood consumption may mediate ethnic KD risk among children in the United States. Hospitalization rates of KD in US children aged 0–4 years ( n = 10,880) and blood Hg levels in US children aged 1–5 years ( n = 713) were determined using separate US federal datasets. Our cohort primarily presented with blood Hg levels <0.1 micrograms (µg) per kg bodyweight (96.5%) that are considered normal and subtoxic. Increased ethnic KD risk was significantly associated with both increasing levels and detection rates of blood Hg or cadmium (Cd) in a linear dose-responsive manner between ethnic African, Asian, Caucasian, and Hispanic children in the US ( p ? 0.05). Increasing low-dose exposure to Hg or Cd may induce KD or contribute to its later development in susceptible children. However, our preliminary results require further replication in other ethnic populations, in addition to more in-depth examination of metal exposure and toxicokinetics.

Keywords: allergy; autoimmunity; infantile acrodynia; Kawasaki disease; mercury; methylmercury; pediatrics; pollution; seafood; toxicology (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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