Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #117458

Jessica Kaslow, MS, MPH, Erica Weis, MPH, Alyce Ujihara, MA, Diana Lee, MPH, RD, Sun Hyung Lee, MPH, and May Lynn Tan, MHS. Environmental Health Investigations Branch, California Department of Health Services, 1515 Clay Street, Suite 1700, Oakland, CA 94612, 510-622-4439, JKaslow@dhs.ca.gov

A study of blood mercury levels in U.S. women of childbearing age found that approximately 8% may be exposed at levels of health concern. This exposure is due to consumption of fish. National advisories recommend that women of childbearing age limit consumption of all fish, regardless of source, because of mercury contamination. In California, elevated levels of mercury have been found throughout the state including the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, an area with abundant fishing and an ethnically-diverse population.

To improve our understanding of fish consumption practices of California women, the California Department of Health Services (CDHS) conducted two fish consumption surveys. In 2003, CDHS added questions about fish intake and awareness of health advisories to the California Women's Health Survey, an ongoing telephone survey of 4000 California women about their health. In 2004, CDHS conducted detailed interviews with women at a Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) clinic in the Delta about their fish consumption practices.

In California, a very high proportion of women report eating fish primarily from commercial sources. Asian and African American women report higher intakes than other groups. Awareness about health warnings is generally low, particularly among non-whites and those with lower socioeconomic status. Female WIC participants from the Delta report relatively high fish intakes compared to women statewide. These findings are guiding CDHS's development of culturally-appropriate health education activities to raise awareness among high risk groups about mercury in fish and to emphasize ways to eat fish safely.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify demographic characteristics of populations at high risk of exposure to mercury from consumption of fish.
• Describe culturally-appropriate health education methods.

Keywords: Health Education Strategies, Environmental Exposures

Related Web page: www.ehib.org/cma/project.jsp?project_key=DHEP02

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.