Ethnic Kawasaki Disease Risk Associated with Blood Mercury and Cadmium in U.S. Children
by
Deniz Yeter 1,*,
Michael A. Portman 2,
Michael Aschner 3,
Marcelo Farina 4
,
Wen-Ching Chan 1,5,
Kai-Sheng Hsieh 1,6,7 and
Ho-Chang Kuo 1,6,7,*
Deniz Yeter 1,*,
Michael A. Portman 2,
Michael Aschner 3,
Marcelo Farina 4,
Wen-Ching Chan 1,5,
Kai-Sheng Hsieh 1,6,7 and
Ho-Chang Kuo 1,6,7,*
1
Kawasaki Disease Center, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Niaosong, Kaohsiung 83301, Taiwan
2
Division of Cardiology, Department of Pediatrics, Seattle Children’s Research Institute, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98101, USA
3
Department of Molecular Pharmacology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Yeshiva University, Bronx, NY 10461, USA
4
Departamento de Bioquímica, Centro de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, Santa Catarina 88040, Brazil
5
Genomics and Proteomics Core Laboratory, Department of Medical Research, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Niaosong, Kaohsiung 83301, Taiwan
6
Department of Pediatrics, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Niaosong, Kaohsiung 83301, Taiwan
7
College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Gueishan, Taoyuan 33302, Taiwan
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Academic Editors: Helena Solo-Gabriele and Alesia Ferguson
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2016, 13(1), 101; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph13010101
Received: 23 November 2015 / Revised: 29 December 2015 / Accepted: 30 December 2015 / Published: 5 January 2016
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Children’s Exposure to Environmental Contaminants)
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.
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Keywords:
allergy; autoimmunity; infantile acrodynia; Kawasaki disease; mercury; methylmercury; pediatrics; pollution; seafood; toxicology
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MDPI and ACS Style
Yeter, D.; Portman, M.A.; Aschner, M.; Farina, M.; Chan, W.-C.; Hsieh, K.-S.; Kuo, H.-C. Ethnic Kawasaki Disease Risk Associated with Blood Mercury and Cadmium in U.S. Children. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2016, 13, 101.
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