Maternal and Neonatal Lead Exposure in Southern Italy

Abstract

We evaluated the blood lead levels in 159 pregnant women and in their healthy newborns at birth. The blood lead levels were higher in mothers as compared with neonates, with a linear correlation between maternal and neonatal levels. The blood lead levels were also higher in neonates as compared with infants aged 6–12 months, and, besides, 2.5% of the newborns had blood lead levels >10 µg/dl, the actual level of concern according to the Center for Disease Control. The study of blood and urinary lead levels during the 1st week of life showed a steady decrease of blood lead levels, together with increasing levels of urinary lead. The mechanism of renal elimination is important to avoid persistently high free blood lead levels, with possible deposition in tissues with high lead affinity, such as bone. In newborns, the possibility of a functional renal insufficiency during the first days of life suggests that newborns with high cord blood lead levels and impaired renal function could be at high risk of lead toxicity, so that it could be advisable to perform a careful and prolonged follow-up.

Maternal blood lead concentration, diet during pregnancy, and anthropometry predict neonatal blood lead in a socioeconomically disadvantaged population.

“…Our findings that maternal lead levels during pregnancy are strongly related to neonatal lead level are consonant with previously published studies (Amitai et al 1999;Angell and Lavery 1982;Campagna et al 1999;Carbone et al 1998;Chuang et al 2001;Dietrich et al 1987;Graziano et al 1990;Lauwerys et al 1978;McMichael et al 1988;Nashashibi et al 1999;NavarreteEspinosa et al 2000). The correlation in the APILS sample between maternal and neonatal lead levels at parturition is well within the published range from 0.36 (Amitai et al 1999) to 0.92 (Graziano et al 1990).…”

Towards Prenatal Biomonitoring in Eastern Nigeria: Assessing Lead Levels and Anthropometric Parameters of Newborns

“…The cord BLLs found in other countries such as China, Mexico, India, Israel, Pakistan, Tanzania, Turkey, Spain, Belgium and indeed other countries were in general lower than the levels obtained in the present study [40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54][55].…”

Characterizing Golden Eagle Risk to Lead and Anticoagulant Rodenticide Exposure: A Review

“…A study of 159 motherinfant pairs also found a relatively constant cord/maternal ratio (0.84) over a maternal blood lead range of approximately 1-12 μg/dL (Carbone et al 1998). As noted in the discussion of the distribution of lead in bone, measurements of stable lead isotope ratios in pregnant women and cord blood, as they came into equilibrium with a novel environmental lead isotope signature, indicated that approximately 80% of lead in fetal cord blood appears to derive from maternal bone stores (Gulson et al 2003).…”

“…The maternal/fetal blood lead concentration ratio, indicated from cord blood lead measurements, is approximately 0.9 (Carbone et al 1998;Goyer 1990;Graziano et al 1990). …”