Recent Developments in Low-Level Lead Exposure and Intellectual Impairment in Children

Autor: Karin Koller, Len Levy, Terry Brown, Anne Spurgeon
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2004
Předmět:
Male
Pediatrics
medicine.medical_specialty
Cross-sectional study
Health
Toxicology and Mutagenesis
Intelligence
Child Welfare
Reviews
Risk Assessment
Lead poisoning
Cohort Studies
Child Development
children
Reference Values
Environmental health
Correspondence
lead exposure
medicine
Cognitive development
Humans
Prospective Studies
Child
Social Behavior
cognitive function
Intelligence Tests
Models
Statistical
Dose-Response Relationship
Drug
Parenting
business.industry
Public health
intellectual impairment
Public Health
Environmental and Occupational Health
Confounding Factors
Epidemiologic
Environmental Exposure
Environmental exposure
medicine.disease
Child development
Lead Poisoning
Cross-Sectional Studies
IQ
Child
Preschool
Cohort
Female
Public Health
business
Cognition Disorders
Developed country
Perspectives
Research Article
Zdroj: Environmental Health Perspectives
ISSN: 1552-9924
0091-6765
Popis: In the last decade children's blood lead levels have fallen significantly in a number of countries, and current mean levels in developed countries are in the region of 3 Mu g/dL. Despite this reduction, childhood lead poisoning continues to be a major public health problem for certain at-risk groups of children, and concerns remain over the effects of lead on intellectual development in infants and children. The evidence for lowered cognitive ability in children exposed to lead has come largely from prospective epidemiologic studies. The current World Health Organization/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention blood level of concern reflects this and stands at 10 Mu g/dL. However, a recent study on a cohort of children whose lifetime peak blood levels were consistently less than 10 Mu g/dL has extended the association of blood lead and intellectual impairment to lower levels of lead exposure and suggests there is no safety margin at existing exposures. Because of the importance of this finding, we reviewed this study in detail along with other recent developments in the field of low-level lead exposure and children's cognitive development. We conclude that these findings are important scientifically, and efforts should continue to reduce childhood exposure. However, from a public health perspective, exposure to lead should be seen within the many other risk factors impacting on normal childhood development, in particular the influence of the learning environment itself. Current lead exposure accounts for a very small amount of variance in cognitive ability (1-4%), whereas social and parenting factors account for 40% or more.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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