Lead exposure in children

Roberts, David; Bradberry, Sally; Butcher, Frances E. G.; Busby, Araceli

doi:10.1136/bmj-2020-063950

Cited by 5 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 22 publications

(22 reference statements)

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“…The demographics of the cases are in line with previous descriptions of UK cases [2,11,12,23,33,34]: more likely to be male (67%), aged between 1-5 years old (57%), and living in the most deprived quintile (49%) although BLC did not significantly vary between genders, age groups, and deprivation.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 82%

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’As safe as houses; the risk of childhood lead exposure from housing in England and implications for public health’

Crabbe¹,

Verlander²,

Iqbal³

et al. 2022

BMC Public Health

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Background and aim: Exposure to lead can harm a child's health, including damage to the nervous system, delayed growth, hearing loss, and many other adverse health effects, as well as implications for social, economic, educational and social well-being. Lead exposure in children is still a concern and cases require public health management to find the exposure source and interrupt the exposure pathway. Housing characteristics can indicate the presence of leadcontaminated paint and leaded water supply pipes. We aimed to explore the relationship between housing characteristics and elevated blood lead concentration (BLC) in children in England. Methods:We used a retrospective cohort design and included all cases of lead exposure in children reported to the UK Health Security Agency between 2014 and 2020 via surveillance. A case was a child aged under 16 years, resident in England, BLC of ≥ 0.48 μmol/L (10 µg/dL) and referred for public health management. We collected case demographic details and housing characteristics (age and type). We explored associations between elevated BLC and risk factors, using generalised linear mixed effects models and compared cases' housing type to that expected nationally. Results:Two hundred and sixty-six out of 290 cases met the case definition. There was no difference in BLCs between genders, age groups, deprivation, and housing type. After adjusting for reporting source, housing age and type, cases residing in housing built pre-1976 had a BLC of 0.32 (95%CI 0.02, 0.63) µmols/L (6.63 (95%CI 0.42, 13.0) µg/ dL) higher than cases living in housing built after this time. Cases were 1.68 times more likely to be living in terraced housing (housing adjoined to one another) than other children and less likely to live in apartments and detached properties. Conclusion:This study suggests an association between housing characteristics and BLC in children. Housing age and type may act as a proxy for lead exposure risk through exposure to leaded paint, lead water pipes, and lead contaminated dust from indoor and outdoor sources. Public health action should consider targeting families more at risk in older housing by raising awareness of the potential presence of lead pipes and paint. Interventions should include working with wider stakeholders including other housing and environmental professionals, the private sector, as well as parents and carers.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 82%

“…1) leading to increased ingestion from lead in paint flakes, dust and soil, amongst other sources. Furthermore, iron deficiency may further increase susceptibility to lead toxicity [10][11][12].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

’As safe as houses; the risk of childhood lead exposure from housing in England and implications for public health’

Crabbe¹,

Verlander²,

Iqbal³

et al. 2022

BMC Public Health

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“…The health consequences of exposure to lead can result from acute exposure (when taking a significant concentration in a short period of time) or chronic exposure as a result of the accumulation of this element within the body [11]. Exposure of children to this element results from direct ingestion of lead--contaminated food and water.…”

Section: Lead (Pb)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Awareness of parents of preschool children about selected heavy metals in food

Dolibóg,

Osmala-Kurpiewska

2024

Ann. Acad. Med. Siles.

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WstępDziałalność człowieka przyczyniła się do szerokiego rozpowszechnienia metali ciężkich w środowisku naturalnym. Skutki narażenia na metale ciężkie mogą się ujawnić dopiero po upływie wielu lat. Narażenie dzieci na metale ciężkie drogą pokarmową może stanowić istotne ryzyko zdrowotne, dlatego wiedza oraz postawy zdrowotne rodziców i opiekunów prawnych mają niebagatelne znaczenie w zakresie minimalizacji ryzyka zdrowotnego dzieci. Celem pracy była ocena poziomu wiedzy rodziców na temat metali ciężkich, ich występowania w żywności oraz zagrożeń dla zdrowia dzieci, wynikających ze spożywania żywności zanieczyszczonej metalami ciężkimi.Materiał i metodyNarzędzie badawcze stanowił autorski kwestionariusz ankiety, składający się z części „metryczka” oraz pytań zamkniętych, głównie jednokrotnego wyboru. Grupę badaną stanowiło 100 rodziców z dwóch placówek przedszkolnych zlokalizowanych na terenie województwa śląskiego. Wyniki kwestionariusza ankiety zostały opracowane w programie Microsoft Office Excel 2019. Za pomocą programu Statistica 13 (StatSoft) wykonano analizę statystyczną (test chi-kwadrat), a istotność statystyczną przyjęto na poziomie α = 0,05.WynikiRodzice dzieci w wieku przedszkolnym nie są świadomi zagrożeń związanych z ekspozycją na metale ciężkie. Większość respondentów nie zapoznawała się z informacjami ogólnymi na temat obecności metali ciężkich w produktach spożywczych.WnioskiŚwiadomość rodziców dzieci w wieku przedszkolnym dotycząca wybranych metali ciężkich występujących w żywności jest niska. Wskazane jest wdrożenie działań edukacyjnych w celu zwiększenia poziomu wiedzy rodziców na temat możliwych następstw zdrowotnych i sposobów zmniejszania ryzyka zdrowotnego wynikającego z narażenia na metale ciężkie drogą pokarmową.

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“…Screening of blood lead concentration is not currently recommended in asymptomatic, healthy children and pregnant women or in the routine ‘work up’ of anaemia. However, blood lead measurement should be strongly considered in children with pica of soil or paint, particularly if anaemia is present or they have symptoms compatible with lead poisoning, such as constipation and colicky abdominal pain 8. Blood lead testing is also recommended in children with global developmental delay or in individuals with behavioural disorders, particularly pica, where lead exposure could be a contributing factor.…”

Section: Leadmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigation and monitoring of heavy metal poisoning

Barlow

Bradberry

2022

J Clin Pathol

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Historically, heavy metal measurement and interpretation has been a highly specialised area performed only in a handful of centres within the UK. However, recent years have seen a move to more local testing due to the repatriation of referred work into pathology networks and the increased availability of inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry technology. While management of significant poisoning is still overseen by tertiary care poisoning specialists, management of milder cases may be undertaken locally.Non-specialist clinical scientists and clinicians need to know when heavy metal testing is appropriate, which samples are required (and any specific requirements around collection) and how to interpret and act on the results.This Best Practice article provides guidance on the investigation and monitoring of the toxic elements most frequently encountered in general medical practice; lead, mercury and arsenic. It is intended as a reference guide for the non-specialist and as a comprehensive summary for clinical toxicologists and clinical scientists.

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Lead exposure in children

Cited by 5 publications

References 22 publications

’As safe as houses; the risk of childhood lead exposure from housing in England and implications for public health’

’As safe as houses; the risk of childhood lead exposure from housing in England and implications for public health’

Awareness of parents of preschool children about selected heavy metals in food

Investigation and monitoring of heavy metal poisoning

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