The primary objective of the research is to estimate the dependence between hair
mercury content, hair
selenium,
mercury-to-
selenium ratio, serum
lipid spectrum, and gamma-glutamyl
transferase (GGT) activity in 63 adults (40 men and 23 women). Serum
triglyceride (TG) concentration in the high-
mercury group significantly exceeded the values obtained for low- and medium-
mercury groups by 72 and 42 %, respectively. Serum GGT activity in the examinees from high-Hg group significantly exceeded the values of the first and the second groups by 75 and 28 %, respectively. Statistical analysis of the male sample revealed similar dependences. Surprisingly, no significant changes in the parameters analyzed were detected in the female sample. In all analyzed samples, hair
mercury was not associated with hair
selenium concentrations. Significant correlation between hair
mercury content and serum TG concentration (r = 0.531) and GGT activity (r = 0.524) in the general sample of the examinees was detected. The respective correlations were observed in the male sample. Hair
mercury-to-
selenium ratios significantly correlated with
body weight (r = 0.310), body mass index (r = 0.250), serum TG (r = 0.389), atherogenic index (r = 0.257), and GGT activity (r = 0.393). The same correlations were observed in the male sample. Hg/Se ratio in women did not correlate with the analyzed parameters. Generally, the results of the current study show the following: (1) hair
mercury is associated with serum TG concentration and GGT activity in
men, (2) hair
selenium content is not related to hair
mercury concentration, and (3)
mercury-to-
selenium ratio correlates with
lipid spectrum parameters and GGT activity.