Mercury, Selenium and Risk of Cardiovascular Disease in Women and Men

描述（由申请人提供）：科学家、政策制定者和公众/媒体对成人摄入鱼类的健康风险和益处存在争议。有证据表明，长链n-3脂肪酸（n-3 FA）可降低心血管疾病（CVD）的风险。相反，暴露于某些鱼类中存在的甲基汞（MeHg）可能会增加CVD风险。鱼类也是硒的主要来源，硒是一种可以防止甲基汞中毒的微量元素。因此，有必要同时考虑n-3 FA、甲基汞和硒的心血管疾病风险和益处，以便个人和政策制定者做出明智的决策。不幸的是，以往对鱼类摄入对心血管疾病影响的分析一般集中在甲基汞的风险或n-3 FA（或更罕见的硒）的益处上，而不是调查它们对心血管疾病健康的联合影响。准确定量评估甲基汞、硒和n-3 FA的总效应需要对同一人群中的每种暴露进行可比和客观的生物标志物评估，并有足够数量的前瞻性确定的CVD终点和标准化协变量评估，以尽量减少偏倚和不精确性。该修订版将大大加快科学研究的克里思，在母基金中增加n-3 FA水平的客观生物标志物和人员/工作人员支持，以（1）使用可比和客观的方法，前瞻性地调查n-3 FA，甲基汞，和Se对CVD终点的影响，以及（2）得出基于证据的风险-评估框架，以量化心血管疾病的影响，消费特定的鱼类品种含有不同的n-3 FA，甲基汞和硒。这项研究将首次克服该领域目前的主要局限性。这一修订还将直接刺激美国经济，创造大量就业机会，包括几个新职位，增加工作时间和留住现有员工，以及采购额外的必要设备。 公共卫生相关性：研究问题对于科学和公共卫生政策都是重要的，新颖的和及时的。除了告知食用鱼类的心血管疾病风险和益处以及刺激美国经济外，这项工作期间开发的风险评估框架还将为未来受鱼类消费影响的其他关键健康结果的风险-益处建模提供信息，例如子宫内和婴儿期的大脑发育。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Controversy exists among scientists, policy makers, and the public/media regarding health risks and benefits of fish intake in adults. Evidence indicates that long-chain n-3 fatty acids (n-3 FA) reduce risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Conversely, exposure to methylmercury (MeHg) present in some fish species may increase CVD risk. Fish are also a major source of selenium (Se), a trace element that may protect against MeHg toxicity. Thus, simultaneous consideration of CVD risks and benefits of n-3 FA, MeHg, and Se is necessary to allow informed decision-making by individuals and policy makers. Unfortunately, prior analyses of CVD effects of fish intake have generally focused either on risks of MeHg or benefits of n-3 FA (or, more rarely, of Se), rather than investigating their joint impact on CVD health. Accurate quantitative assessment of total effects of MeHg, Se, and n-3 FA would require comparable and objective biomarker assessments of each exposure in the same population, with adequate numbers of prospectively ascertained CVD endpoints and standardized covariate evaluation to minimize bias and imprecision. This Revision will dramatically accelerate the tempo of scientific research by adding to the parent grant objective biomarkers of n-3 FA levels and personnel/staff support to (1) prospectively investigate, using comparable and objective methods, the effects of n-3 FA, MeHg, and Se on CVD endpoints and (2) derive an evidence-based risk-assessment framework to quantify CVD effects of consuming specific fish species containing varying n-3 FA, MeHg, and Se. This research will overcome, for the first time, the present major limitations in the field. This Revision also will directly stimulate the U.S. economy by providing substantial job creation, including several new positions, as well as increased hours and retention of current staff and procurement of additional necessary equipment. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The research questions are important, novel, and timely for both science and public health policy. In addition to informing CVD risks and benefits of fish consumption and stimulating the US economy, the risk-assessment framework developed during this work will also inform future risk-benefit modeling of other key health outcomes affected by fish consumption, such as brain development in utero and infancy.