ArticleScientific reports2025
A longitudinal metabolomics study on blood mercury and depressive symptoms.
Article in Scientific reports, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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Abstract
Mercury exposure may increase the risk of depression. This study examined associations between blood mercury, depressive symptoms (PHQ-9), and metabolomic pathways in Chinese young adults. Fasting venous blood samples and questionnaire data (N = 477) were collected from the Chinese undergraduate cohort study in 2019 and 2021. Patient Health Questionnaire-9 was used to estimate depressive symptoms. Blood mercury and serum metabolomic were measured using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). The association between whole-blood mercury concentrations and depressive symptoms were assessed by linear mixed-effects models. Linear mixed-effects models and ANOVAs were used to examine metabolomic changes associated with blood mercury based on baseline blood samples (N = 468). We found that for every 2-fold increase in blood mercury levels, the depression scale score increased by 0.50 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.14, 0.86]. This effect was stronger in male, increasing their depression scores by 0.87 (95% CI: 0.12-1.61), while no significant association was observed in females. Individuals consuming fish ≥ once a month show negative correlation. Metabolomic analysis identified 44 altered metabolites, with 7 of these were enriched in 4 pathways (P < 0.05). These pathways are amino acid metabolism. Mercury exposure may affect depressive symptoms through neurotransmitter, energy and inflammation-related pathways.
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