The role of geophagy and artisanal gold mining as risk factors for elevated blood lead levels in pregnant women in northwestern Tanzania

Bibliographic Data

ID19592344
AuthorsDeborah S K Thomas (0000-0002-9594-9790, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, corresponding author), Moses Asori (0000-0002-1438-4020, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, corresponding author), Elias C Nyanza (0000-0002-8358-7358, Catholic University of Health and Allied Sciences, corresponding author)
EditorsGauri Desai
Year2024
Volume4
Issue2
Pagese0002958
Publication date2024-02-23
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePLOS Global Public Health (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2767-3375 • E-ISSN: 2767-3375
PublisherPublic Library of Science (PLoS) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1371/journal.pgph.0002958
PMID38394051
OpenAlexW4392097656
LanguageEN
References cited35

Neither artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) or geophagy practices have received substantial attention related to blood lead levels despite the well documented deleterious effects of lead. This cross-sectional analytical study aimed to document the risk of lead exposure from geophagy and mining-related occupational activities for pregnant women. The study recruited 1056 pregnant women (883 in an ASGM area and 173 in a non-ASGM area) between April 2015 –April 2017. Generalized Linear Model with an identity link function was used to model the association between blood lead levels (BLLs) and geophagy practices and involvement in gold mining. The prevalence of geophagy was 36.2% (95% CI: 33.6, 39.4%) and 6.3% engaged in mining as a primary occupation. Practicing geophagy increased BLLs by 22% (β = 1.22, 95% CI: 1.116, 1.309, p

Biology · Blood lead level · Environmental health · Geography · Gold mining · Lead exposure · Population · Pregnancy · Socioeconomic status · Tanzania · Demography · Heavy Metal Exposure and Toxicity · Heavy metals in environment · Medicine · Mining and Resource Management · Internal Medicine

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