Dataset Information

Somatosensory Psychophysical Losses in Inhabitants of Riverside Communities of the Tapajos River Basin, Amazon, Brazil: Exposure to Methylmercury Is Possibly Involved.

ABSTRACT: The purpose of this work was to evaluate the somatosensory system of methylmercury-exposed inhabitants living in the communities of the Tapajós river basin by using psychophysical tests and to compare with measurements performed in inhabitants of the Tocantins river basin. We studied 108 subjects from Barreiras and São Luiz do Tapajós, two communities of the Tapajós river basin, State of Pará, Amazon, Brazil, aged 13-53 years old. Mercury analysis was performed in head hair samples weighting 0.1-0.2 g by using atomic absorption spectrometry. Three somatosensory psychophysical tests were performed: tactile sensation threshold, vibration sensation duration, and two-point discrimination. Semmes-Weinstein 20 monofilaments with different diameters were used to test the tactile sensation in the lower lip, right and left breasts, right and left index fingers, and right and left hallux. The threshold was the thinner monofilament perceived by the subject. Vibration sensation was investigated using a 128 Hz diapason applied to the sternum, right and left radial sides of the wrist, and right and left outer malleoli. Two trials were performed at each place. A stopwatch recorded the vibration sensation duration. The two-point discrimination test was performed using a two-point discriminator. Head hair mercury concentration was significantly higher in mercury-exposed inhabitants of Tapajós than in non-exposed inhabitants of Tocantins (p < 0.01). When all subjects were divided in two groups independently of age-mercury-exposed and non-exposed-the following results were found: tactile sensation thresholds in mercury-exposed subjects were higher than in non-exposed subjects at all body parts, except at the left chest; vibration sensation durations were shorter in mercury-exposed than in non-exposed subjects, at all locations except in the upper sternum; two-point discrimination thresholds were higher in mercury-exposed than in non-exposed subjects at all body parts. There was a weak linear correlation between tactile sensation threshold and mercury concentration in the head hair samples. No correlation was found for the other two measurements. Mercury-exposed subjects had impaired somatosensory function compared with non-exposed control subjects. Long-term mercury exposure of riverside communities in the Tapajós river basin is a possible but not a definitely proven cause for psychophysical somatosensory losses observed in their population. Additionally, the relatively simple psychophysical measures used in this work should be followed by more rigorous measures of the same population.

SUBMITTER: Khoury ED

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4676688 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Somatosensory Psychophysical Losses in Inhabitants of Riverside Communities of the Tapajós River Basin, Amazon, Brazil: Exposure to Methylmercury Is Possibly Involved.

Khoury Eliana Dirce Torres ED Souza Givago da Silva Gda S da Costa Carlos Araújo CA de Araújo Amélia Ayako Kamogari AA de Oliveira Cláudia Simone Baltazar CS Silveira Luiz Carlos de Lima LC Pinheiro Maria da Conceição Nascimento Mda C

PloS one 20151211 12

The purpose of this work was to evaluate the somatosensory system of methylmercury-exposed inhabitants living in the communities of the Tapajós river basin by using psychophysical tests and to compare with measurements performed in inhabitants of the Tocantins river basin. We studied 108 subjects from Barreiras and São Luiz do Tapajós, two communities of the Tapajós river basin, State of Pará, Amazon, Brazil, aged 13-53 years old. Mercury analysis was performed in head hair samples weighting 0.1 ...[more]

PMID: 26658153

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Project description:BackgroundThe ways of life in the Amazon are diverse and not widely known. In addition, social inequities, large geographic distances and inadequate health care network noticeably limit access to health services in rural areas. Over the last decades, Brazilian health authorities have implemented fluvial mobile units (FMU) as an alternative to increase access and healthcare coverage. The aim of the study was to identify the strategies of access and utilization of primary health care (PHC) services by assessing the strengths and limitations of the healthcare model offered by the FMU to reduce barriers to services and ensure the right to healthcare.MethodsQualitative and ethnographic research involving participant observation and semi-structured interviews. Data collection consisted of interviews with users and health professionals and the observation of service organization and healthcare delivered by the FMU, in addition to the therapeutic itineraries that determine demand, access and interaction of users with healthcare services.ResultsPrimary care is offered by the monthly locomotion of the FMU that serves approximately 20 rural riverside communities. The effectiveness of the actions of the FMU proved to be adequate for conditions such as antenatal care for low-risk pregnancy, which require periodic consultations. However, conditions that require continued attention are not adequately met through the organization of care established in the FMU. The underutilization of the workforce of community health workers and disarrangement between their tasks and those of the rest of the multi-professional team are some of the reasons pointed out, making the healthcare continuity unfeasible within the intervals between the trips of the FMU. From the users' perspective, although the presence of the FMU provides healthcare coverage, the financial burden generated by the pursuit for services persists, since the dispersed housing pattern requires the locomotion of users to reach the mobile unit services as well as for specialized care in the urban centers.ConclusionsThe implementation of the FMU represents an advance in terms of accessibility to PHC. However, the organization of their activity uncritically replicates the routines adopted in the daily routine of health services located in urban spaces, proving to be inadequate for providing healthcare strategies capable of mitigating social and health inequalities faced by the users.

Dataset Information

Somatosensory Psychophysical Losses in Inhabitants of Riverside Communities of the Tapajos River Basin, Amazon, Brazil: Exposure to Methylmercury Is Possibly Involved.

Publications

Somatosensory Psychophysical Losses in Inhabitants of Riverside Communities of the Tapajós River Basin, Amazon, Brazil: Exposure to Methylmercury Is Possibly Involved.

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