Fig 3. Tactile sensation thresholds.

Measurements were performed at different body locations. Results are presented for different age groups, < 30, 31–45, 46–60 years old, and also taken together all subjects independently of age. Comparisons were made between mercury-exposed subjects and non-exposed subjects from three different Amazonian villages. Thresholds were expressed as the diameter of the filament probe and were higher at all body locations in all mercury-exposed groups when compared with non-exposed groups, but only reached statistical significance (p<0.05) in 11 out of 21 different conditions (*). When data from all age groups were pooled together, differences between mercury-exposed subjects and non-exposed subjects reached the significance level in six out of seven body locations (*).