Preventive planning against mercury over-exposure among Moroccan dentists using multidimensional statistical methods.

Mercury used in dental amalgams constitutes a significant source of chronic exposure to this heavy metal among dentists. Thus, the safety of dental amalgam remains a controversial issue despite its long history of use. In Morocco, most studies about dental mercury were mainly focused on the environmental risk related to the management of mercury-contaminated waste. In order to evaluate the occupational exposure to mercury among liberal dentists practicing in two Moroccan regions, a multidimensional statistical approach was used to analyze the collected data. The main objective was to help establishing a targeted prevention plan aiming to reduce the mercury exposure among Moroccan dentists. Fifteen variables from 146 dentists were elected for a three-step classification procedure: a multiple correspondence analysis followed by a hierarchical ascendant clustering consolidated by the k-Means algorithm. Three homogenous clusters were identified. The most important one includes 57.5% of the population as well as the majority of the risky factors. The characterization of these clusters allows proposing concise guidelines for a targeted preventive plan. A real mercurial risk has been observed in the studied population. However, its impact on health as well as the efficiency of simple preventive recommendations remains to be unveiled.

Citation

Nourdine Attiya, Ayoub Filali, Rkia Fattahi, Soumia Moujane, Hamid Mazouz, Mohamed-Yassine Amarouch, Younes Filaly-Zegzouti. Preventive planning against mercury over-exposure among Moroccan dentists using multidimensional statistical methods. Work (Reading, Mass.). 2022;72(3):1065-1076

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PMID: 35599522

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