Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP) is a monthly journal of peer-reviewed research and news on the impact of the environment on human health. EHP is published by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and its content is free online. Print issues are available by paid subscription.DISCLAIMER
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13 November 2002
Mercury in Dental Fillings Not Linked To Impaired Brain Function
Study Published Today in Environmental Health Perspectives Finds No Neuropsychological Deficits from Exposure to Mercury Amalgams
[RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC] Cognitive, or fine motor, functioning in healthy working adults is not affected by mercury exposure from dental fillings, according to a study published today in the peer-reviewed science journal Environmental Health Perspectives. The authors analyzed a random sampling of 500 adults, aged 30Ð49, to measure the association between their mercury exposure from dental amalgam restorations and performance on neuropsychological tests.
While the average study participant had more than 10 tooth surfaces repaired by these traditional filling materials, mercury exposure levels were relatively low. In fact, there were no detectable differences in exposure levels among subjects regardless of the number of fillings.
"In our sample of working adults, exposure to mercury from dental amalgams was not associated with cognitive dysfunction," the study authors conclude. "Specifically, performance on tests of verbal and non-verbal memory, attention and psychomotor speed, and fine motor coordination were not associated with urinary mercury concentration."
While dental amalgams have been used for over 150 years with no overt adverse effects, the study notes that one-half of adults surveyed still believed they might cause problems. Some studies conducted in the early 1990s appeared to link amalgam restorations to severe psychiatric, neurological, and immunological effects.
"This study is exciting because it analyzes the link between cognitive function and mercury exposure through fillings," says Dr. Jim Burkhart, science editor for EHP. "When they used specially trained dentists to count fillings, a random sample, and controls for other factors, the bottom line was that fillings simply did not impact performance on a whole series of standardized tests."
Pam Factor-Litvak of the Department of Epidemiology of the Joseph Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, headed the study team. Other authors include Gunnar Hasselgren, Diane Jacobs, Melissa Begg, Jennie Kline, Jamie Geier, Nancy Mervish, Sonia Schoenholtz and Joseph Graziano.
EHP is the journal of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. More information is available online at www.ehponline.org. An abstract of this study is available at www.ehponline.org/amalgam200211.
Editor's note: A full copy is available to working media at no charge. Register for free access at www.ehponline.org/press, phone, or e-mail adams6@niehs.nih.gov.
