Lead poisoning as a differential diagnosis in pediatric patients with chronic abdominal pain: a case–control study in Tehran-Iran

Abstract

Background Chronic abdominal pain is a potential symptom of lead poisoning, which is often challenging to diagnose. This case–control study aimed to evaluate blood lead levels in pediatric patients with chronic abdominal pain. Methods The case–control study was conducted on 190 pediatrics who presented to the Children's Medical Center Hospital clinics, Tehran between April 2021- 2023. The children were divided into two groups: the case group, consisting of 81 patients with chronic abdominal pain, and the matched control group; 109 children without any gastrointestinal symptoms. The statistical analysis of the data was performed using STATA 16. A multiple logistic regression model was used to assess the association of different independent variables with chronic abdominal pain. Results There was no significant difference between mean (± standard deviation [SD]) of age (8.80(2.7) years vs. control group: 9.23(3.9) years), sex, and BMI (16.55(4.6) vs. 17.32(4.7)) of the patients with chronic abdominal pain (case group) and the control group, whereas the mean weight was remarkably low in patients with chronic abdominal pain: 27.25(± 12.1) kg vs. 31.70(± 14.7) kg ( P value = 0.028). Fifty-nine percent of children with chronic abdominal pain had serum lead levels ≥ 10 µg/dL. The mean (SD) of blood lead levels was statistically high in the case group: 11.09 (± 5.35) µg/dL vs. control group: 8.26 (± 5.01) µg/dL) ( P value ≤ 0.05). The appetite level was significantly low in the case group: 3.8 (± 2.5) vs. control group 5.4 (± 1.3). Conclusions Lead poisoning could be a possible cause of children's chronic abdominal pain. Regarding the high rate of lead poisoning in children exerting appropriate measures to reduce their exposure to lead is necessary. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12876-024-03337-1.