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Mercury exposure and its effects on fertility and pregnancy outcome
Author(s) -
Bjørklund Geir,
Chirumbolo Salvatore,
Dadar Maryam,
Pivina Lyudmila,
Lindh Ulf,
Butnariu Monica,
Aaseth Jan
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
basic and clinical pharmacology and toxicology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.805
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1742-7843
pISSN - 1742-7835
DOI - 10.1111/bcpt.13264
Subject(s) - fertility , abortion , pregnancy , medicine , mercury (programming language) , physiology , infertility , obstetrics , biology , environmental health , population , computer science , genetics , programming language
Abstract Mercury (Hg), a highly toxic environmental pollutant, shows harmfulness which still represents a big concern for human health, including hazards to fertility and pregnancy outcome. Research has shown that Hg could induce impairments in the reproductive function, cellular deformation of the Leydig cells and the seminiferous tubules, and testicular degeneration as well as abnormal menstrual cycles. Some studies investigated spontaneous abortion and complicated fertility outcome due to occupational Hg exposure. Moreover, there is a relation between inhaled Hg vapour and reproductive outcome. This MiniReview evaluates the hypothesis that exposure to Hg may increase the risk of reduced fertility, spontaneous abortion and congenital deficits or abnormalities.