Environmental Engineering Reference
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the risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The latter in particular was historically al-
most unknown in traditional Inuit communities despite widespread smoking from an early
age. In contrast, there is now a similar prevalence of cardiovascular disease in many Inuit
communities asinmid-latitude populations. Anothercostofdietarytransition appearstobe
related to reduced efficacy of the immune system, particularly in children. Readers may re-
member that immune suppression has long been known as a common toxic effect of POPs.
A paper published in 2008 by Joseph and Sandra Jacobson and colleagues shows just
how convoluted the Arctic dilemma has become. It looked at the levels of docosahexaenoic
acid (DHA, which is an omega-3 fatty acid), other polyunsaturated fatty acids and three en-
vironmental contaminants (polychlorinated biphenyls, mercury and lead) in umbilical cord
plasma and maternal milk in 109 Inuit infants in Arctic Québec. Statistical tests were then
used to control for the contaminant confounders and to examine growth and development
at six and 11 months in relation to DHA levels from umbilical cord blood and DHA from
breastfeeding. The researchers found that higher umbilical cord DHA concentrations were
associated with more optimal visual, cognitive and motor development in the infants. They
believed that this demonstrated how critically important this fatty acid is during the third
“trimester spurt of synaptogenesis in brain and photoreceptor development”. Put simply,
synaptogenesisinthiscontextistheprocesswhenourbrainneuronsareconnectingupwith
oneanother.Nowthekeypointinthedilemmahereisthatthemaindietarysourcesofthese
essential fatty acids to the Inuit are the same upper-trophic-level fish and marine mammals
from which they also acquire their body burdens of POPs and mercury.
The Arctic dilemma has given leaders of indigenous communities and regional health
care workers an unhappy responsibility. What dietary advice should be provided? The
strategy followed has varied regionally to reflect which contaminants pose the greatest
risk and to identify foods that carry the highest contaminant levels. The backbone of all
strategies has been to provide Arctic residents with adequate information for them to make
their own individual dietary choices. To provide this information, indigenous leaders and
public health workers present the facts as comprehensively as possible and when appro-
priate in the regional indigenous language. Indigenous peoples' organisations and region-
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