A recent study suggests that mercury exposure in young adulthood may
be linked to an increased risk for diabetes later in life.
Mercury is a neurotoxin, meaning it affects the nervous system. Mercury exposure may lead to excessive mercury levels in the body that can permanently damage or fatally injure the brain and kidneys. Mercury can also be absorbed through the skin and cause allergic reactions. Health problems caused by mercury depend on how much has entered the body, how it entered the body, how long the individual has been exposed to it, and how the individual’s body responds to the mercury. People are at risk when they consume mercury-contaminated fish and when they are exposed to spilled mercury.
In a new study, researchers evaluated data on 3,875 non-diabetic individuals who were 20-32 years-old at the beginning of the study. Toenail mercury levels and data on glucose levels were collected throughout the study from 1987-2005
Throughout the 18 year follow up period, 288 cases of diabetes were identified. After adjusting the data for other potential factors, such as age, sex, alcohol consumption and family history, the researchers found that higher mercury exposure was linked to an increased risk for developing diabetes, noting that those with the most exposure had a 65 percent increased risk of diabetes when compared to those with the lowest.