Lead, cadmium, and mercury dietary intake in Croatia

This paper gives an overview of published data on levels of lead, cadmium, total and methyl-mercury in various food items, and of a daily dietary intake assessment in Croatia focusing on the last 10 years. It briefly describes the most reliable methods for quantitative analysis of lead, cadmium, and mercury in biological material. Lead and cadmium concentrations in vegetables and in organs of domestic animals refer to non-exposed rural areas. Mercury concentrations in fish and mussels refer to industrially polluted and non-polluted areas of the Adriatic. The daily dietary intake of lead and cadmium was assessed on the basis of duplicate-diet-collection and food-disappearance method. The assessment of the total and methyl-mercury dietary intake was based on dietary surveys of family seafood consumption. Lead and cadmium intake through food in the general population was 6-40% of the Provisional Tolerable Weekly Intake (PTWI), depending on the assessment method. The only Croatian population consuming more mercury through seafood is the one living in Dalmatia, approaching the PTWI defined by WHO.     

Lead, mercury, cadmium, chromium, and arsenic levels in eggs, feathers, and tissues of Canada geese of the New Jersey Meadowlands

The New Jersey Meadowlands are located within the heavily urbanized New York/New Jersey Harbor Estuary and have been subject to contamination due to effluent and runoff from industry, traffic, and homes along the Hackensack River and nearby waterways. These extensive wetlands, though heavily impacted by development and pollution, support a wide array of bird and other wildlife species. Persistent contaminants may pose threats to birds in these habitats, affecting reproduction, egg hatchability, nestling survival, and neurobehavioral development. Metals of concern in the Meadowlands include arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, and mercury. These metals were analyzed in eggs, feathers, muscle, and liver of Canada geese (Branta canadensis) breeding in four wetland sites. We sampled geese collected during control culling (n=26) and collected eggs from goose nests (n=34). Levels of arsenic were below the minimum quantification level (MQL) in most samples, and cadmium and mercury were low in all tissues sampled. Chromium levels were high in feather samples. Mercury levels in eggs of Canada geese, an almost exclusively herbivorous species, were lower (mean ±SE 4.29±0.30 μg/g wet weight) than in eggs of omnivorous mallards (Anas platyrhynchos), and insectivorous red-winged blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus) and marsh wrens (Cistothorus palustris) from the Meadowlands, consistent with trophic level differences. However, lead levels were higher in the goose eggs (161±36.7 ng/g) than in the other species. Geese also had higher levels of lead in feathers (1910±386 ng/g) than those seen in Meadowlands passerines. By contrast, muscle and liver lead levels were within the range reported in waterfowl elsewhere, possibly a reflection of metal sequestration in eggs and feathers. Elevated lead levels may be the result of sediment ingestion or ingestion of lead shot and sinkers. Finally, lead levels in goose liver (249±44.7 ng/g) and eggs (161±36.7 ng/g) may pose a risk if consumed frequently by humans. Mill Creek, the site with the most documented prior contamination, had significantly elevated cadmium, chromium, mercury, and lead in goose tissues.     

B-virus and free-ranging macaques, Puerto Rico

In Puerto Rico, risk for transmission of B-virus from free-ranging rhesus monkeys to humans has become a serious challenge. An incident with an injured rhesus monkey, seropositive for B-virus, resulted in inappropriate administration of antiviral postexposure prophylaxis. This incident underscores the importance of education about risks associated with interactions between humans and nonhuman primates.     

Fertility and contraception in Puerto Rico

A contraceptive service was established in Puerto Rico in 1937. Detailed study of the reproductive history of low income families admitted to the service provides information for the basis of the present high fertility of the population and the likelihood of its continuance. The experience of these families following admission to the contraceptive service shows the impact of the service upon their fertility, testing the view that Puerto Rico might respond to an organized birth control effort. The sample consisted of 1962 families selected not randomly but on the basis of indigence and interest in contraceptive advice. 1/3 of the couples reported some previous effort at contraception, with most of the contraceptive practice depending on withdrawal. Residence, education, occupation, and income are all associated with the marked variation in the proportions who reported contraceptive experience. The percentages are 26 and 52 for rural and urban residence; 21, 27, 44, and 59 for the educational groupings with less than 5 to 7 and 8 or more completed grades. For the low, medium, and high occupational groups, the percentages are 20, 45, and 69, and for the corresponding income classes they are 22, 42, and 66. Women aged 25 to 29 and 30 to 34 report contraceptive practice with much greater relative frequency than younger women. Clearly marked differences are found in the rates for contraceptors of different social and economic classes. Although the reason for high fertility in Puerto Rico is due to lack of cultural and economic pressure to limit families, there is evidence to suggest that use of birth control has begun. It appears that fertility reduction would be implemented if the population possessed better knowledge of birth control measures and readier access to contraceptive materials, particularly condoms. A clinical program to encourage the use of contraception might also prove effective.     

Fertility determinants in Puerto Rico

This paper examines the proximate determinants of fertility in Puerto Rico using data from a 1982 island-wide study. Contraceptive use was found to be the primary direct determinant of fertility in Puerto Rico, both for the total population and for each level of education studied. Female sterilization is the most prevalent method of contraception used in Puerto Rico at each educational level. Marriage is also important in Puerto Rico and is the only proximate determinant that varies across education groups. Late age at first marriage, in addition to high contraceptive use, accounts for the below-replacement fertility of women who have more than a high school education. In contrast, women who have not completed high school tend to marry early and not practice contraception for birth-spacing purposes. This study shows the advantages of analyzing fertility determinants at the population subgroup level (i.e., women of various educational attainment levels) so that the fertility of the total population can be better understood.     

Educational status and coronary heart disease in Puerto Rico: the Puerto Rico Heart Health Program

The Puerto Rico Heart Health Program is an observational epidemiological study of coronary heart disease (CHD) among 9824 Puerto Rican men conducted from 1965 to 1980. Increased level of education was associated with decreased total mortality and increased CHD incidence among the urban participants. Urban men with more education, age 45-64, also showed higher levels of blood pressure and serum cholesterol, more obesity, less physical activity and more atherogenic diets. The increased level of risk factors among those with high education could statistically account for the elevations in CHD incidence. Among rural participants there was an increase in total mortality among those at the highest and lowest levels of education.     

Control of schistosomiasis in Guayama and Arroyo, Puerto Rico

In 1953, a programme to control schistosomiasis mansoni was started in Guayama and Arroyo, Puerto Rico, employing, first, chemical and, later, both biological and chemical methods to control Biomphalaria glabrata, the snail host of Schistosoma mansoni. Sodium pentachlorophenate was the molluscicide, and an ampullarid snail, Marisa cornuarietis, was used for biological control in ponds and reservoirs. In addition some chemotherapy was given to infected persons. The prevalence of intestinal schistosomiasis was measured annually, sampling about one-third of the 6-year-old population in Guayama and Arroyo and in Caguas, an untreated area. Costs of the programme and the results are discussed in relation to similar projects in other parts of Puerto Rico. In Guayama and Arroyo the prevalence of schistosomiasis reached zero in 6-year-olds by 1966 despite the persistence of the disease in a nearby untreated area. Although this decline appeared related to the control effort, it is noted that a large decline also occurred in the untreated area, suggesting the influence of other factors such as economic development or improvements in sanitation.     

Catholicism and fertility in Puerto Rico.

This paper examines the association between fertility and religious affiliation among Puerto Ricans. Bongaarts' proximate determinants framework is used to compare religious categories on behaviors that directly affect fertility. We found no difference in recent fertility between Catholics and non-Catholics in Puerto Rico (total fertility rate = 2.5). We also found Catholics and non-Catholics to be similar on age at first marriage (23.3 and 23.4 years, respectively), contraceptive use (71 percent and 69 percent of married women currently contracepting), and breast-feeding practices (mean duration of breast-feeding of 4.4 and 4.3 months). Differences were observed between less committed and more committed Catholics in total fertility rate, age at first marriage, and contraceptive use, but these differences were not large and were in the opposite direction from the expected. Our findings support the theory of convergence of Catholic and non-Catholic fertility for the US. Our discrepancy with findings from the National Survey of Family Growth is evidence of the cultural diversity in the US Hispanic population and indicates the importance of disaggregating by ethnicity or national origin when studying this population.