Fish consumption (hair mercury) and nutritional status of Amazonian Amer-Indian children.

Fish are abundant and important dietary items for the Amer‐Indians, and total hair‐Hg (HHg) concentration is a reliable marker of fish consumption. We studied the impact of fish consumption (HHg) on the nutritional status of Indian children of Eastern Amazonia. Weight‐for‐height Z score (WHZ) was measured, and HHg was determined in 203 children younger than 10 years of age in three villages. There was significantly higher fish consumption in Kayabi children (16.55 μg Hg/g; SD, 11.44) than in children of the Munduruku villages of Missão‐Cururu (4.76 μg Hg/g; SD, 2.09) and Kaburua (2.87 μg Hg/g; SD, 2.13). Anthropometric indices showed WHZ means of ?0.27, ?0.22, and 0.40, respectively, for Kayabi, Missão‐Cururu and Kaburua villages. Despite a different pattern of fish‐protein consumption between tribes, there was no significant correlation between WHZ and HHg concentrations (r² = 0.0079; P < 0.2021). Dietary differences among Amazonian tribes can be traced and used in measuring health outcomes. Higher fish consumption, although important for Kayabis, was compensated by other protein sources by the Kaburua villagers. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 17:507–514, 2005.© 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.