| Separating potential source exposure from background exposure in subsistence populations in developing countries. | |
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MedLine Citation:
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PMID: 12505354 Owner: NLM Status: MEDLINE |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
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Risk assessment methods of developed countries have prescribed exposure assumptions for calculating health risks that are generally inappropriate for developing countries because of population, cultural, and social differences. For example, populations in developing countries are often subsistence users of natural resources with a more outdoor-oriented lifestyle. Assessments should thus measure specific dietary intake rates and contact rates with environmental media. Chemical analyses of food, environmental media, and any biomarkers of exposure should include a carefully matched reference population to distinguish between exposures due to naturally occurring metals in more mineralized areas and potential anthropogenic sources. Without a reference group, one might predict excess risk associated with the external source, even though exposure is due to background levels. For example, subsistence populations often have a simple diet with high ingestion rates of a few food types (e.g. 200 g/day wet weight of fish; 500 g/day of rice). These foods can be naturally elevated in arsenic (fish and rice) and mercury (fish). Conservative risk assessments that extrapolate toxicity from high to low doses can predict elevated risks for these naturally occurring elements (e.g. greater than 1 in 10,000 cancer risk for arsenic). Whether the calculated risks are actually indicative of harm to subsistence populations should be considered in light of the beneficial properties of the diet and the lack of alternative food choices. |
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Authors:
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Joyce S Tsuji; Sue Robinson |
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Publication Detail:
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Type: Journal Article |
Journal Detail:
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Title: Toxicology Volume: 181-182 ISSN: 0300-483X ISO Abbreviation: Toxicology Publication Date: 2002 Dec |
Date Detail:
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Created Date: 2002-12-30 Completed Date: 2003-02-28 Revised Date: 2004-11-17 |
Medline Journal Info:
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Nlm Unique ID: 0361055 Medline TA: Toxicology Country: Ireland |
Other Details:
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Languages: eng Pagination: 467-70 Citation Subset: IM |
Affiliation:
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Exponent, 15375 SE 30th Place, Suite 250, Bellevue, WA 98007, USA. tsujij@exponent.com |
Export Citation:
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APA/MLA Format Download EndNote Download BibTex |
| MeSH Terms | |
Descriptor/Qualifier:
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Animals Arsenic / adverse effects, analysis Asia, Southeastern / epidemiology Data Collection Developing Countries / statistics & numerical data* Diet Environmental Exposure / statistics & numerical data* Fishes Food Analysis Humans Mercury / adverse effects, analysis Metals / adverse effects Neoplasms / chemically induced, epidemiology Risk Assessment United States / epidemiology |
| Chemical | |
Reg. No./Substance:
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0/Metals; 7439-97-6/Mercury; 7440-38-2/Arsenic |
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
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