Objectives: This study was conducted to examine the effect of blood mercury on neurobehavioral performance in Korean elementary school students.
Methods: We measured the blood mercury concentration in 1,077 elementary school students from Seoul, Busan, Daegu and Gwangju, then the students underwent computerized neurobehavioral test.
Results: The mean concentration of blood mercury of study subjects was 2.10 ㎍/L. An increased blood mercury was associated with an increased reaction time in digit addition and symbol digit.
Conclusions: The blood mercury concentration of study subjects was very high compared to findings in a foreign country. We found several associations between blood mercury level and neurobehavioral performance.