scholarly journals Oral exposure to lead for Japanese children and pregnant women, estimated using duplicate food portions and house dust analyses

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mayumi Ohtsu ◽  
Nathan Mise ◽  
Akihiko Ikegami ◽  
Atsuko Mizuno ◽  
Yayoi Kobayashi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Drinking Water ◽  
High Risk ◽  
Cord Blood ◽  
Pregnant Women ◽  
Lead Exposure ◽  
House Dust ◽  
Blood Lead ◽  
Lead Contamination ◽  
Japanese Children ◽  
Exposure Levels

Abstract Background Lead is a toxic metal abundant in the environment. Consumption of food contaminated at low levels of lead, especially by small children and pregnant women, raises a health concern. Methods Duplicated food portions and drinking water were collected over 3 days from 88 children and 87 pregnant women in Shimotsuke, Tochigi, Japan. Participants were recruited in this study between January 2014 and October 2015. Dust was also collected from their homes. Lead concentrations were measured and consequent oral lead exposure levels were estimated for this population at high risk to environmental toxicants. Lead concentrations of peripheral and cord blood, taken from children and pregnant women, and were also analyzed. Results Lead concentrations in food, drinking water, and house dust were low in general. Oral lead exposure to lead was higher for children (Mean ± SEM; 5.21 ± 0.30 μg/kg BW/week) than in pregnant women (1.47 ± 0.13 μg/kg BW/week). Food and house dust were main sources of lead contamination, but the contribution of house dust widely varied. Means ± SEM of peripheral and cord blood lead concentrations were 0.69 ± 0.04 μg/dL and 0.54 ± 0.05 μg/dL, respectively for pregnant women and 1.30 ± 0.07 μg/dL (peripheral only) in children. We detect no correlation between smoking situations and blood lead concentration in pregnant women. Conclusion We conclude that oral lead exposure levels for Japanese children and pregnant women were generally low, with higher concentrations and exposure for children than for pregnant women. More efforts are necessary to clarify the sources of lead contamination and reduce lead exposure of the population at high risk even in Japan.

Contribution of house dust contamination towards lead exposure among children in Karachi, Pakistan

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 271-275
Author(s):  
Akihiko Ikegami ◽  
Mayumi Ohtsu ◽  
Ambreen Sahito ◽  
Adeel Ahmed Khan ◽  
Zafar Fatmi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lead Exposure ◽  
House Dust ◽  
Blood Lead Level ◽  
Lead Level ◽  
Blood Lead ◽  
Lead Contamination ◽  
Secondary Sources ◽  
Tolerable Weekly Intake ◽  
Lead Levels ◽  
Lead Intake

AbstractLead exposure is associated with impaired neurodevelopment among children. House dust is recognized as one of the important secondary sources of lead exposure in children. We assessed the relationship between lead contamination in house dust and blood lead level in Pakistani children. We investigated lead contamination in house dust samples collected from 59 houses in Karachi, Pakistan. The lead content of house dust in Pakistan was relatively higher than that reported in previous studies. Weekly lead intakes from house dust were considerably higher among Pakistani children. In Pakistani children, 12% (7 of 58) showed lead intake values greater than the previous Provisional Tolerable Weekly Intake of lead. A correlation (Pearson’s correlation = 0.37) was found between weekly lead intake from house dust and blood lead level in Pakistani children. In addition, blood lead levels were significantly higher in children with high lead intakes than in children with low and medium lead intakes. Thus, house dust is an important source of lead exposure in Pakistani children.

Pesticide Contaminated Drinking Water and Health Effects on Pregnant Women and Children

2019 ◽  
pp. 123-136
Author(s):  
Sanjeevi Ramakrishnan ◽  
Anuradha Jayaraman
Keyword(s):  
Drinking Water ◽  
High Risk ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Pregnant Women ◽  
Health Effects ◽  
Pesticide Residues ◽  
Contaminated Water ◽  
Adverse Health Outcomes ◽  
Contaminated Drinking Water ◽  
Women And Children

In the recent years, pesticide research and regulatory efforts have focused on the prevention of acute health effects from pesticide poisonings and pesticide residues on foods, but more attention is being given to the deleterious chronic health effects. Children and pregnant women's exposure to contaminated water in particular are at high risk for subsequent adverse health outcomes. The chapter summaries the health effects of water contamination.

scholarly journals Assessment of a Screening Questionnaire to Identify Exposure to Lead in Pregnant Women

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (24) ◽  
pp. 9220
Author(s):  
Eléna Coiplet ◽  
Marine Freuchet ◽  
Claire Sunyach ◽  
Julien Mancini ◽  
Jeanne Perrin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pregnant Women ◽  
Lead Exposure ◽  
Blood Lead ◽  
Blood Lead Levels ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Lead Levels ◽  
Risk Of Exposure ◽  
Exposure During Pregnancy ◽  
Systematic Identification

Lead readily crosses the placenta and displays adverse effects on birth outcomes and neurodevelopment. Systematic identification of the risk of exposure during pregnancy is essential but rarely performed, probably due to hospital staff’s workload and their lack of awareness. We aimed to evaluate the relevance of a questionnaire to screen pregnant women for lead exposure. A cross-sectional, multicentre study was carried out on a population of 792 pregnant women from February 2018 to May 2020. A total of 596 women had a blood lead test: 68.5% had blood lead levels below 10 μg/L. The estimated prevalence above 25 µg/L was 4% (95% confidence interval (CI) [2.6–5.9]) and 1.3% had levels above 50 µg/L (95% CI [0.6–2.6]). Multivariate analysis showed that three risk factors significantly increased the probability of blood lead levels above 25 µg/L: the use of traditional cosmetics (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 3.90; 95% CI [1.65–9.21]; p = 0.002), degraded old housing (aOR: 2.67; 95% CI [1.19–6.038]; p = 0.018), and (marginally) eating bread more than twice a day (aOR: 2.40; 95% CI [0.96–6.11]; p = 0.060). Our study reveals that a three-question tool can be used to quickly screen for the risk of lead exposure in our population and to trigger lead blood tests and special vigilance during pregnancy follow-up.

scholarly journals Stunting and lead: using causal mediation analysis to better understand how environmental lead exposure affects cognitive outcomes in children

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelsey M. Gleason ◽  
Linda Valeri ◽  
Anuraj H. Shankar ◽  
John F. Obrycki ◽  
Md Omar Sharif Ibne Hasan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cord Blood ◽  
Umbilical Cord ◽  
Umbilical Cord Blood ◽  
Lead Exposure ◽  
Mediation Analysis ◽  
Lead Concentration ◽  
Blood Lead ◽  
Effect Modification ◽  
Cognitive Outcomes ◽  
Blood Lead Concentration

Abstract Background Many children in Bangladesh experience poor nutritional status and environmental lead exposure, both of which are associated with lower scores on neurodevelopmental assessments. Recent studies have suggested that part of lead’s adverse effects on neurodevelopment are caused in part by lead’s effect on growth. New statistical methods are now available to evaluate potential causal pathways in observational studies. This study used a novel statistical method to test the hypothesis that stunting, a measure of linear growth related to poor nutrition, is a mediator and/or an effect modifier of the lead exposure’s adverse effect on cognitive development. Methods Participants were 734 children from a longitudinal birth cohort established in rural Bangladesh to study the health effects of prenatal and early childhood environmental metal exposures. Lead exposure was estimated using umbilical cord blood samples obtained at birth and blood obtained via venipuncture at age 20–40 months. Stunting was determined using the World Health Organization’s standards. Neurodevelopment was assessed at age 20–40 months years using the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, Third Edition (BSID-III). We evaluated the effect of lead on stunting and whether the effect of lead on cognitive scores is modified by stunting status in multivariable regression analyses. We then conducted a novel 4-way mediation analysis that allows for exposure-mediator interaction to assess how much of the effect of lead on cognitive scores is explained by the pathway through stunting (mediation) and how much is explained by the interaction between lead and stunt (effect modification). Results Stunting was not a mediator of the effect of lead in our analyses. Results suggested effect modification by stunting. In an area of Bangladesh with lower lead exposures (median umbilical cord blood lead concentration, 1.7 μg/dL), stunting modified the relationship between prenatal blood lead concentrations and cognitive score at age 2–3 years. A 1-unit increase in natural log cord blood lead concentration in the presence of stunting was associated with a 2.1-unit decrease in cognitive scores (β = − 2.10, SE = 0.71, P = 0.003). This interaction was not found in a second study site where lead exposures were higher (median umbilical cord blood lead concentration, 6.1 μg/dL, β = − 0.45, SE = 0.49, P = 0.360). Conclusions We used a novel method of mediation analysis to test whether stunting mediated the adverse effect of prenatal lead exposure on cognitive outcomes in Bangladesh. While we did not find that stunting acted as mediator of lead’s effect on cognitive development, we found significant effect modification by stunting. Our results suggest that children with stunting are more vulnerable to the adverse effects of low-level lead exposure.

scholarly journals Assessing the risk of lead exposure to children from drinking water in Metro Vancouver child care facilities

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Quach ◽  
BCIT School of Health Sciences, Environmental Health ◽  
Helen Heacock ◽  
Reza Afshari
Keyword(s):  
Drinking Water ◽  
Child Care ◽  
Lead Exposure ◽  
Water Samples ◽  
Lead Concentration ◽  
Control Measure ◽  
Lead Contamination ◽  
Metro Vancouver ◽  
Care Facilities ◽  
Child Care Facilities

  Background: Environmental lead exposure has been a concern since the early 1970’s. With the reduction of airborne lead for inhalation, ingestion from food and water has become the major route of exposure leading to elevated blood lead levels. Previous research and the recent lead contamination of drinking water in Flint, Michigan demonstrate the vulnerability of young children and potential for exposure through drinking water. The purpose of this study was to assess and characterize the risk of lead contamination of drinking water for Metro Vancouver-area early childhood care facilities, and the effect of flushing fixtures as a control measure. Method: 91 drinking water samples were collected from various fixtures at 16 child care facilities at progressive time points to observe the effects of flushing and re-stagnation on total dissolved lead content. Analysis was performed using Varian AAS-240 coupled with GTA-120 graphite furnace atomic absorption spectroscopy. Results were analysed statistically using Excel 2010 and SAS/STAT® 14.2 software with SAS Studio 3.6 interface. Results: The mean (SD, min-max) lead concentrations of the water samples were 0.69 (2.32, 0.1-11.27) μg/L at zero minutes of flushing, 0.21 (0.44, 0.1-2.19) μg/L after one minute of flushing, 0.15 (0.17, 0.1- 0.87) μg/L after five minutes of flushing, 0.18 (0.17, 0.1 -0.64) μg/L after re-stagnation, and 0.31 (1.20, 0.1-11.27) μg/L overall. One outlier sample had a lead concentration of 11.27 μg/L, which exceeded Health Canada’s maximum allowable concentration of 10 μg/L. The decrease in mean lead concentration between zero minutes and one minute of flushing was statistically significant (p=0.0020). Conclusions: The results indicate that lead contamination of drinking water in child care facilities is present but below regulatory action levels under normal circumstances. The flushing of fixtures for at least one minute was shown to be effective in lowering lead concentrations further. Efforts should be taken to identify facilities at higher risk of lead contamination and to educate operators of flushing as an effective control measure.  

scholarly journals A randomized trial of education to prevent lead burden in children at high risk for lead exposure: efficacy as measured by blood lead monitoring.

2003 ◽  
Vol 111 (16) ◽  
pp. 1947-1951 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine M Jordan ◽  
Becky L Yust ◽  
Leslie L Robison ◽  
Peter Hannan ◽  
Amos S Deinard
Keyword(s):  
High Risk ◽  
Randomized Trial ◽  
Lead Exposure ◽  
Blood Lead
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