Promoting Healthy Seafood Choices in Asian Communities

 描述（由申请人提供）：全球水道的环境污染导致鱼类受到甲基汞（MeHg）和其他持久性有毒物质（如多氯联苯（PCB））的污染。通过摄入受污染的鱼类接触甲基汞和多氯联苯可导致行为和认知异常、动脉粥样硬化和癌症。还有强有力的证据表明，食用鱼类可以促进神经发育，并可以预防由于omega-3脂肪酸引起的心肌梗死和中风死亡。由于经常食用鱼类，美国的亚洲人的汞含量高于其他种族/族裔群体，但关于导致这种高暴露的具体鱼类消费做法的信息很少，关于暴露于其他污染物（如多氯联苯）的风险的信息更少。本提案的目的是与芝加哥为亚洲人口服务的社区组织合作，对鱼类消费中汞和多氯联苯的接触情况进行深入的定性分析，然后利用这些结果针对已确定的风险亚群体定制公共卫生信息，从而减少他们对这些污染物的接触，同时保持或改善他们对鱼类健康营养素的消费。在芝加哥有代表性的四大东南亚和环太平洋亚洲族裔社区-中国人、韩国人、越南人和菲律宾人-是这项“从研究到行动”建议的重点。我们将在这些社区中开展焦点小组活动，收集头发样本进行汞测试，并调查有关鱼类消费、首选鱼类品种和切割方式以及制作技术的数据。我们将购买经常食用和/或未出现在公布的污染物清单上的鱼类，并对其进行汞和多氯联苯测试。我们将根据种族、文化适应和人口统计因素以及计划行为理论提供的健康行为改变措施，评估汞摄入量超过1微克/克（相当于EPA参考剂量0.1微克/千克/天）的流行率。我们的分析将确定头发中汞含量升高以及从鱼类中摄入汞和多氯联苯的风险因素，并建立群体水平的鱼类风险概况，显示亚洲人中可能因食用鱼类而面临不良健康影响风险的亚群。然后，我们将开发针对这些亚群体的健康信息。将采用随机对照群集设计，以头发汞作为主要结局，对育龄妇女量身定制的短信干预进行测试。我们的社区合作伙伴将设计一个公共宣传活动，解决健康的鱼类消费，这将在项目的最后几年进行。我们将遵循一个逻辑模型，重点是我们的社区参与，因为我们通过项目的进展，我们将进行持续的过程评估。该项目将针对高风险接触鱼类污染物的亚洲社区制定有效的健康信息。在个人干预措施中以及通过社区范围的推广使用这些信息，将有可能导致减少鱼类中污染物的暴露，同时保持健康的鱼类消费并改善社区的健康。

 DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Environmental pollution in global waterways has resulted in the contamination of fish with methylmercury (MeHg) and other persistent toxicants such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Exposure to MeHg and PCBs via ingestion of contaminated fish can lead to behavioral and cognitive abnormalities, atherosclerosis, and cancer. There is also strong evidence that fish consumption promotes improved neurodevelopment and can prevent mortality from myocardial infarctions and stroke due to omega-3 fatty acids. Asians in the United States have higher Hg levels than other racial/ethnic groups due to frequent fish consumption, but little information is available on specific fish consumption practices that result in this elevated exposure, and even less about risk for exposure to other pollutants such as PCBs. The objective of this proposal is to perform an in-depth characterization of exposure to Hg and PCBs from fish consumption in partnership with community based organizations who serve the Asian population in Chicago, and then to use these results to tailor public health messages to the identified subgroups at risk, thereby decreasing their exposure to those contaminants while maintaining or improving their consumption of healthy nutrients from fish. The top four Southeast and Pacific Rim Asian ethnic communities represented in Chicago, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese and Filipino, are the focus of this "Research to Action" proposal. From this community, we will conduct focus groups, collect hair samples for Hg testing and survey data on fish consumption, preferred species and cuts of fish, and preparation techniques. We will purchase fish that are commonly consumed and/or that do not appear on published contaminant lists and test them for Hg and PCBs. We will evaluate the prevalence of Hg intake above 1 µg/gm, equivalent to the EPA reference dose of 0.1 µg/kg/d, by ethnicity, acculturation and demographic factors and health behavior change measures informed by the Theory of Planned Behavior. Our analysis will identify risk factors for elevated hair Hg and intake of Hg and PCBs from fish, and create group- level fish risk profiles that show subgroups of Asians who may be at risk of adverse health effects due to fish consumption. We will then develop health messaging aimed at those subgroups. An intervention of tailored text messaging for women of childbearing age will be tested using a randomized controlled cluster design with hair Hg as the primary outcome. Our community partners will design a public outreach campaign addressing healthful fish consumption, which will be carried out in the final years of the project. We will follow a logic model focused on our community engagement as we progress through the project, and we will conduct on-going process evaluation. This project will develop effective health messaging targeted to Asian communities with high risk of exposure to contaminants from fish. Use of the messaging in individual interventions and through community-wide outreach will potentially lead to decreased exposure to contaminants in fish while maintaining healthful fish consumption and improving the health of the community.