Exposure to lead in childhood: the importance of prevention

Article Abstract:

Exposure to low levels of lead during early childhood may affect intellectual development. A research study found that children who were exposed to lead during the early years of childhood had lower IQ scores than other children. The association between exposure to a chemical in the environment and decreased intellectual development in children has been controversial. Exposure to lead occurs more often among disadvantaged children who are affected by other social and economic factors that may impede their intellectual development. The same research study found that exposure to lead may affect the intellectual development of children from a higher socioeconomic class. The US government has started a program to decrease exposure to lead during childhood. The blood levels of lead among US residents have decreased since 1982. This has mainly been the result of eliminating lead from food and beverage cans and using unleaded gasoline.

Editorial

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Environmental exposure to lead and children's intelligence at the age of seven years

Article Abstract:

Exposure to low levels of lead during early childhood may cause decreased intellectual development. A study compared the IQ scores of 494 seven-year-old children to their blood levels of lead both before birth and throughout the first seven years of their life. Children who had higher blood levels of lead before and after birth had lower IQ scores than those with lower blood levels of lead. At 15 months and two, three and four years old, children with a 30 microgram (ug) per deciliter concentration of lead in their blood had an IQ score that was 4% to 5% lower that of children with a 10 ug per deciliter concentration of lead in their blood. All of the children lived in a lead-smelting community in Australia and had been reported as having slower intellectual development at two and four years old. It is not known whether exposure to lead during early childhood affects mental development later in life.

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Declining Blood Lead Levels and Changes in Cognitive Function During Childhood: The Port Pirie Cohort Study

Article Abstract:

Mild brain damage caused by lead exposure in children may not be completely reversible even if lead exposure is eliminated. Researchers followed 375 children in a community near a lead smelter from birth to the age of 11-13. Many of these children had elevated blood lead levels at the age of two and performed poorly on tests of intellectual development. Although their blood lead levels had dropped at the age of 11-13, their scores on these tests were still below normal. Those whose lead levels had dropped the most had the best scores.

Causes of, Child development, Cognition disorders, Cognitive disorders

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