The Long-Term Effects of Exposure to Low Doses of Lead in Childhood

An 11-Year Follow-up Report

Bibliographic Data

ID23326293
AuthorsHerbert L Needleman (University of Pittsburgh), Alan Schell (University of Pittsburgh), David Bellinger (Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh), Alan Leviton (0000-0001-8152-7012, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh), Elizabeth N Allred (Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh)
Year1990
Volume322
Issue2
Pages83-88
Publication date1990-01-11
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueNew England Journal of Medicine (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0028-4793 • E-ISSN: 1533-4406
PublisherMassachusetts Medical Society (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1056/nejm199001113220203
PMID2294437
OpenAlexW2891215035
LanguageEN
Citations received80
References cited19

To determine whether the effects of low-level lead exposure persist, we reexamined 132 of 270 young adults who had initially been studied as primary school-children in 1975 through 1978. In the earlier study, neurobehavioral functioning was found to be inversely related to dentin lead levels. As compared with those we restudied, the other 138 subjects had had somewhat higher lead levels on earlier analysis, as well as significantly lower IQ scores and poorer teachers' ratings of classroom behavior. When the 132 subjects were reexamined in 1988, impairment in neurobehavioral function was still found to be related to the lead content of teeth shed at the ages of six and seven. The young people with dentin lead levels greater than 20 ppm had a markedly higher risk of dropping out of high school (adjusted odds ratio, 7.4; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.4 to 40.7) and of having a reading disability (odds ratio, 5.8; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.7 to 19.7) as compared with those with dentin lead levels less than 10 ppm. Higher lead levels in childhood were also significantly associated with lower class standing in high school, increased absenteeism, lower vocabulary and grammatical-reasoning scores, poorer hand-eye coordination, longer reaction times, and slower finger tapping. No significant associations were found with the results of 10 other tests of neurobehavioral functioning. Lead levels were inversely related to self-reports of minor delinquent activity. We conclude that exposure to lead in childhood is associated with deficits in central nervous system functioning that persist into young adulthood.

Absenteeism · Audiology · Confidence interval · Developmental psychology · El Niño · Lead (geology) · Lead exposure · Lead poisoning · Odds ratio · Psychiatry · Demography · Heavy Metal Exposure and Toxicity · Heavy metals in environment · Internal Medicine · Medicine · Mercury impact and mitigation studies · Psychology · Pediatrics

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