Table 1.

Main differences between three major prospective studies of methylmercury-exposed children

Attribute	New Zealand	Faroes	Seychelles
Source of exposure	Shark and ocean fish	Whale, ocean fish and shellfish	Ocean fish
Mercury exposure assessment	Maternal hair	Cord blood, cord tissue, and maternal hair	Maternal hair
Mercury effect	Significant	Significant	Not significant
Effect of maternal fish intake	Mothers were matched for high fish intake	Adjustment for maternal fish intake increased mercury effect	Maternal fish intake not included in data analysis
Other toxicant exposures	Lead in house paint and air	PCBs (whale blubber)	Tropical pesticide use
Language	English (and Pacific languages)	Faroese (and Danish)	Creole (English and French)
Socioeconomic setting	Industrialized Western	Industrialized Scandinavian	Middle-income developing
Family-setting	Urban, mixed cultures	Traditional	Mainly matriarchal
Outcome tests	Omnibus	Domain-related and neurophysiological	Omnibus and domain -related
Clinical examiners	Clinical specialists	Clinical specialists	Nurse/student