Fish intake, circulating mercury and mortality in renal transplant recipients

Abstract

© 2018 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Marine-derived omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFAs) are inversely associated with cardiovascular and all-cause mortality in renal transplant recipients (RTRs). Recommendations to increase marine-derived n-3 PUFAs by increasing fish intake may have a drawback in concomitant stimulation of mercury intake, which could lead to higher circulating mercury concentrations and mitigation of otherwise beneficial effects of n-3 PUFAs. We aimed to monitor circulating mercury concentrations, and to prospectively evaluate whether it counteracts the potential association between fish intake and cardiovascular and all-cause mortality in a cohort of RTRs (n = 604, 53 ± 13 years-old, 57% men) with long-term follow-up (median of 5.4 years; 121 deaths). Circulating mercury concentration (median 0.30 (IQR 0.14–0.63) µg/L) positively associated with fish intake (std. β = 0.21, p < 0.001). Multivariable-adjusted Cox-proportional hazards reg