Table 2.
Sample-weighted Total Mercury Whole Blood Concentrations (μg/L) in the U.S. Population, NHANES 2011–2012
| Category | Geometric mean (95% CI) | 50th %tile (95% CI) | 75th %tile (95% CI) | 90th %tile (95% CI) | 95th %tile (95% CI) | Unweighted Sample Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All ages (in years) | 0.70 (0.62, 0.80) | 0.64 (0.58, 0.73) | 1.38 (1.14, 1.72) | 2.87 (2.39, 3.62) | 4.40 (3.50, 5.71) | 7920 |
| 1–5 | 0.26 (0.24, 0.29) | 0.25 (0.22, 0.27) | 0.39 (0.34, 0.45) | 0.68 (0.54, 0.88) | 0.99 (0.79, 1.21) | 713 |
| 6–11 | 0.33 (0.29, 0.38) | 0.32 (0.28, 0.36) | 0.53 (0.48, 0.60) | 0.93 (0.78, 1.20) | 1.40 (1.02, 2.17) | 1048 |
| 12–19 | 0.41 (0.36, 0.48) | 0.37 (0.32, 0.45) | 0.68 (0.59, 0.80) | 1.32 (1.08, 1.75) | 2.25 (1.46, 2.87) | 1129 |
| 20–29 | 0.66 (0.52, 0.83) | 0.63 (0.52, 0.78) | 1.23 (0.91, 1.86) | 2.61 (1.87, 3.68) | 3.86 (2.75, 4.94) | 892 |
| 30–39 | 0.76 (0.66, 0.87) | 0.68 (0.58, 0.85) | 1.38 (1.13, 1.66) | 2.86 (2.16, 3.81) | 4.40 (3.59, 5.84) | 880 |
| 40–49 | 0.89 (0.75, 1.05) | 0.80 (0.64, 1.01) | 1.63 (1.25, 2.12) | 2.98 (2.24, 4.31) | 4.83 (3.63, 6.81) | 835 |
| 50–59 | 1.00 (0.85, 1.18) | 1.00 (0.78, 1.21) | 2.17 (1.64, 2.73) | 3.38 (2.88, 4.33) | 4.78 (3.87, 6.37) | 833 |
| 60–69 | 1.13 (0.82, 1.56) | 1.00 (0.73, 1.52) | 2.21 (1.44, 3.91) | 5.23 (2.48, 11.30) | 9.28 (3.52, 13.51) | 824 |
| 70+ | 0.87 (0.75, 1.02) | 0.87 (0.71, 1.03) | 1.89 (1.36, 2.41) | 3.79 (2.89, 4.50) | 5.19 (4.20, 6.12) | 766 |
| Females | ||||||
| All females | 0.69 (0.61, 0.79) | 0.64 (0.58, 0.74) | 1.36 (1.09, 1.75) | 2.81 (2.28, 3.50) | 4.03 (3.32, 5.08) | 3952 |
| 1–5 years | 0.26 (0.23, 0.29) | 0.24 (0.21, 0.29) | 0.38 (0.32, 0.47) | 0.76 (0.56, 0.93) | 1.05 (0.70, 1.65) | 345 |
| 16–29 years | 0.59 (0.48, 0.73) | 0.56 (0.44, 0.66) | 1.06 (0.78, 1.72) | 2.54 (1.64, 3.28) | 3.47 (2.72, 4.36) | 716 |
| 30–44 years | 0.73 (0.64, 0.82) | 0.64 (0.57, 0.76) | 1.21 (0.97, 1.55) | 2.70 (1.91, 3.21) | 4.08 (2.88, 5.29) | 665 |
| Males (all) | 0.71 (0.62, 0.81) | 0.65 (0.57, 0.73) | 1.40 (1.17, 1.72) | 3.00 (2.44, 3.91) | 4.94 (3.50, 6.79) | 3968 |
| Race/ethnicity | ||||||
| Non-Hispanic White | 0.69 (0.58, 0.81) | 0.63 (0.55, 0.75) | 1.38 (1.09, 1.82) | 2.83 (2.18, 3.82) | 4.25 (3.02, 6.24) | 2493 |
| Non-Hispanic Black | 0.68 (0.54, 0.85) | 0.63 (0.51, 0.79) | 1.24 (0.89, 1.72) | 2.45 (1.84, 3.10) | 3.80 (2.70, 5.37) | 2195 |
| Mexican American | 0.48 (0.43, 0.55) | 0.48 (0.40, 0.56) | 0.81 (0.72, 0.90) | 1.44 (1.18, 1.63) | 1.90 (1.57, 2.19) | 1077 |
| All Hispanic | 0.61 (0.53, 0.71) | 0.59 (0.49, 0.71) | 1.08 (0.89, 1.33) | 1.96 (1.60, 2.68) | 3.03 (2.37, 3.86) | 1931 |
| Asian | 1.86 (1.58, 2.19) | 2.30 (1.84, 2.64) | 4.32 (3.71, 5.21) | 7.71 (6.38, 8.79) | 10.32 (8.85, 11.97) | 1005 |
| Education (adults 20+ years) | ||||||
| <9th grade | 0.69 (0.57, 0.82) | 0.63 (0.49, 0.80) | 1.24 (0.96, 1.41) | 2.54 (1.78, 3.49) | 4.71 (2.87, 7.93) | 475 |
| 9–11th grade | 0.64 (0.55, 0.74) | 0.58 (0.47, 0.69) | 1.18 (0.92, 1.35) | 2.23 (1.90, 2.75) | 3.04 (2.42, 4.80) | 686 |
| a HS grad or GED | 0.72 (0.61, 0.84) | 0.64 (0.55, 0.76) | 1.38 (1.09, 1.74) | 2.77 (2.00, 3.70) | 3.89 (2.86, 6.69) | 1057 |
| some college or associate degree | 0.79 (0.70, 0.88) | 0.75 (0.65, 0.83) | 1.39 (1.16, 1.74) | 2.81 (2.41, 3.39) | 3.98 (3.23, 5.21) | 1525 |
| college grad or more | 1.24 (1.01, 1.52) | 1.18 (0.96, 1.62) | 2.56 (1.98, 3.16) | 4.97 (3.63, 6.56) | 7.52 (5.14, 10.24) | 1285 |
a
High School graduate or equivalent (GED, General Educational Development tests); Limit of detection = 0.16 μg/L