Lead exposure and conventional and ambulatory blood pressure: a prospective population study
Article Abstract:
Low-level exposure to lead does not appear to increase blood pressure. Researchers took baseline blood pressure readings and measured blood lead levels in 728 Belgians, some of whom lived in an area where a smelter was located. The participants were examined again three to eight years later at which time they wore meters that measured their blood pressure at least every 20 minutes for 24 hours. At baseline, their blood lead levels ranged from 1.7 micrograms per deciliter (dL) to 72.5 micrograms/dL. Blood pressure averaged 133/78 in men and 127/76 in women. At follow-up, diastolic blood pressure, body mass and the number of people taking antihypertensive drugs increased, but blood lead levels decreased. Various statistical measurements revealed that blood lead levels were not associated with blood pressure. Ninety-eight people developed borderline or definite hypertension, but the risk in people with high blood levels was no greater than in those with low levels.
Publication Name: JAMA, The Journal of the American Medical Association
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0098-7484
Year: 1996
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In utero exposure to phenobarbital and intelligence deficits in adult men
Article Abstract:
Barbiturate use during pregnancy can affect the baby's intellectual development. Researchers gave intelligence tests to 114 men born between 1959 and 1961 whose mothers had taken barbiturates during pregnancy. Most were being treated for hypertension. Most of the men were exposed during the third trimester or the last month of pregnancy. Overall, the men scored half a standard deviation lower on the verbal intelligence test than a control group of men not exposed to barbiturates. The effect was greatest in men from poor socioeconomic backgrounds, those who were unwanted, those exposed in the third trimester or earlier or those exposed to high doses of barbiturates. Physicians should use caution in prescribing barbiturates to pregnant women.
Publication Name: JAMA, The Journal of the American Medical Association
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0098-7484
Year: 1995
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