Mercury Intake Estimation in Adult Individuals from Trieste, Italy: Hair Mercury Assessment and Validation of a Newly Developed Food Frequency Questionnaire

Seafood constitutes the primary source of exposure to organic form mercury in general population, and Trieste Gulf is considered a hotspot contamination. We used newly developed quantitative food frequency questionnaire obtain an estimation intake through seafood consumption sample 32 individuals from Trieste. Then, we validated results obtained against those analysis total measured hair same Spearman rank correlation coefficients, Cohen’s weighted Kappa statistic, Bland–Altman plot. The coefficient statistic were 0.76 0.69, respectively. In plot, 93.75% data points lay within acceptability range. plot revealed ever-increasing overestimation by questionnaires as increased. By applying standardized filtering procedure questionnaires, 0.69 0.57, this latter proportionality between mean difference magnitude measurement was more subtle compared that observed built upon non-filtered questionnaires. This preliminary study shows high accuracy reported habitual intake, similar one hair.