Mercury exposure, pink disease and Young's syndrome: a forgotten public health disaster.
Level 4 - case-series / case-control
Individual case report
PubMed 40287162 · doi:10.1136/bcr-2025-265108
What was done
This case report describes a man in his 70s who developed pink disease (acrodynia) in infancy after his mother applied inorganic mercury-containing teething powder to his gums for 12 weeks starting at 6 months of age, receiving no treatment at the time.
What was found
The abstract reports no numerical or quantitative data. The patient presented over his lifetime with male infertility and bronchiectasis of unclear direct etiology, with the authors noting these findings may represent organically occurring disease or manifestations of Young's syndrome.
Why it matters
It reminds clinicians of the potential lifelong sequelae of historic infantile mercury toxicity and its possible link to later-life respiratory and reproductive disorders like Young's syndrome.
Limits
Findings derive from a single patient (n = 1), preventing causal conclusions between infantile mercury exposure and adult pathologies. Confounding exposures over the subject's 70-year lifespan cannot be excluded, and exposure history relies on historical recall.
Cited by
- context In the 1930s and 1940s, infant teething powders containing mercury caused a syndrome that resembles autism.