Childhood Lead Poisoning in the '90s

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1994 ◽  
Vol 93 (3) ◽  
pp. 508-510
Author(s):  
Sergio Piomelli
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Lead Poisoning ◽  
Physiological Function ◽  
Toxic Metal ◽  
The United States ◽  
Single Atom ◽  
Childhood Lead Poisoning ◽  
Environmental Lead ◽  
The Past ◽  
Environmental Threat

Lead is an extremely toxic metal: even a single atom of lead, once in the human body, binds to a protein and induces some damage; the greater the exposure, the more serious the effects. Lead has no physiological function; any amount of body lead reflects environmental pollution.1 In the 1990s, in the United States, is lead poisoning a devastating environmental threat to our children or is childhood lead poisoning a threat of the past? Probably neither of these statements is correct. It may be worthwhile to look at the current situation in detail. In the 1970s, before efforts were made to reduce environmental lead, common effects in children of the widespread environmental contamination with lead were encephalopathy and even death.

Lead Toxicity in the 21st Century: Will We Still Be Treating It?

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1992 ◽  
Vol 89 (4) ◽  
pp. 678-680
Author(s):  
HERBERT L. NEEDLEMAN ◽  
RICHARD J. JACKSON
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Primary Prevention ◽  
Human Health ◽  
Lead Poisoning ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Lead Toxicity ◽  
The United States ◽  
Pediatric Practice ◽  
Effective Response ◽  
The Past

Clinical pediatric practice has not kept pace with the explosive growth in scientific understanding of lead poisoning during the past decade. The report by Glotzer and Bauchner in this issue1 demonstrates the widely differing approaches to treatment of lead toxicity found at many centers. Primary prevention of lead poisoning, the most effective response, continues at a pedestrian pace, even though in the United States we now possess both the knowledge and means to eradicate the disease permanently. Our understanding of lead's role in human health has changed profoundly during the past five decades. In that period, pediatricians have discarded the

Preventing Childhood Lead Poisoning: Screening Practices in the United States

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 100 (1) ◽  
pp. 161-161
Author(s):  
V. J. Kattapong ◽  
K. M. Garbarino ◽  
P. M. Duncan ◽  
J. K. Carney
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Lead Poisoning ◽  
The United States ◽  
Childhood Lead Poisoning ◽  
Screening Practices

International Environmental Health for the Pediatrician: Case Study of Lead Poisoning

PEDIATRICS ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 112 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 259-264 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henry Falk
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Lead Poisoning ◽  
Blood Lead ◽  
The United States ◽  
International Perspective ◽  
Childhood Lead Poisoning ◽  
The Past ◽  
Many Sources ◽  
Mining And Smelting

Childhood lead poisoning is a preventable illness. In the past 3 decades, removal of key lead sources and prevention of exposure in the United States have led to dramatic decreases in population blood lead concentrations and also in instances of severe lead poisoning requiring treatment. From an international perspective, childhood lead poisoning seems to be of greatest concern in developing countries. The phasing out of lead from gasoline is a critical first step in decreasing worldwide blood lead concentrations. However, many focal sources that can cause lead poisoning remain, such as lead from flour mills, lead-glazed ceramics, mining and smelting, and battery repair and recycling. A large and diverse country, such as India, may have many sources of lead. The challenge will be for developing countries to implement effective national and regional efforts to address their specific sources of lead.

Statement on Childhood Lead Poisoning

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1987 ◽  
Vol 79 (3) ◽  
pp. 457-465 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Early Detection ◽  
Lead Poisoning ◽  
Lead Concentration ◽  
Blood Lead ◽  
The United States ◽  
Blood Lead Concentration ◽  
Childhood Lead Poisoning ◽  
Lead Absorption ◽  
Erythrocyte Protoporphyrin

Patterns of childhood lead poisoning have changed substantially in the United States. The mean blood lead level has declined, and acute intoxication with encephalopathy has become uncommon. Nonetheless, between 1976 and 1980, 780,000 children, 1 to 6 years of age, had blood lead concentrations of 30 µg/L or above. These levels of absorption, previously thought to be safe, are now known to cause loss of neurologic and intellectual function, even in asymptomatic children. Because this loss is largely irreversible and cannot fully be restored by medical treatment, pediatricians' efforts must be directed toward prevention. Prevention is achieved by reducing children's exposure to lead and by early detection of increased absorption. Childhood lead poisoning is now defined by the Academy as a whole blood lead concentration of 25 µg/L or more, together with an erythrocyte protoporphyrin level of 35 µg/dL or above. This definition does not require the presence of symptoms. It is identical with the new definition of the US Public Health Service. Lead poisoning in children previously was defined by a blood lead concentration of 30 µ/dL with an erythrocyte protoporphyrin level of 50 µg/dL. To prevent lead exposure in children, the Academy urges public agencies to develop safe and effective methods for the removal and proper disposal of all lead-based paint from public and private housing. Also, the Academy urges the rapid and complete removal of all lead from gasoline. To achieve early detection of lead poisoning, the Academy recommends that all children in the United States at risk of exposure to lead be screened for lead absorption at approximately 12 months of age by means of the erythrocyte protoporphyrin test, when that test is available. Furthermore, the Academy recommends follow-up erythrocyte protoporphyrin testing of children judged to be at high risk of lead absorption. Reporting of lead poisoning should be mandatory in all states.

International Research and Variation in Views of Ethnicity

2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 66-72
Author(s):  
Ella Inglebret ◽  
Amy Skinder-Meredith ◽  
Shana Bailey ◽  
Carla Jones ◽  
Ashley France
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Classification System ◽  
International Research ◽  
The United States ◽  
Research Articles ◽  
Journal Articles ◽  
Research Participants ◽  
The Past ◽  
International Scale ◽  
Publication Patterns

The authors in this article first identify the extent to which research articles published in three American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) journals included participants, age birth to 18 years, from international backgrounds (i.e., residence outside of the United States), and go on to describe associated publication patterns over the past 12 years. These patterns then provide a context for examining variation in the conceptualization of ethnicity on an international scale. Further, the authors examine terminology and categories used by 11 countries where research participants resided. Each country uses a unique classification system. Thus, it can be expected that descriptions of the ethnic characteristics of international participants involved in research published in ASHA journal articles will widely vary.

Proportion of Individuals With Past-Year Suicidal Ideation Who Attempted Suicide Over the Past 10 Years in the United States, and the Influence of Age and Sex

Crisis ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 1-5
Author(s):  
Shannon Lange ◽  
Courtney Bagge ◽  
Charlotte Probst ◽  
Jürgen Rehm
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Suicidal Ideation ◽  
Random Effects ◽  
Attempted Suicide ◽  
Suicide Attempts ◽  
The United States ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
The Past ◽  
Meta Analyses ◽  
Age Category

Abstract. Background: In recent years, the rate of death by suicide has been increasing disproportionately among females and young adults in the United States. Presumably this trend has been mirrored by the proportion of individuals with suicidal ideation who attempted suicide. Aim: We aimed to investigate whether the proportion of individuals in the United States with suicidal ideation who attempted suicide differed by age and/or sex, and whether this proportion has increased over time. Method: Individual-level data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), 2008–2017, were used to estimate the year-, age category-, and sex-specific proportion of individuals with past-year suicidal ideation who attempted suicide. We then determined whether this proportion differed by age category, sex, and across years using random-effects meta-regression. Overall, age category- and sex-specific proportions across survey years were estimated using random-effects meta-analyses. Results: Although the proportion was found to be significantly higher among females and those aged 18–25 years, it had not significantly increased over the past 10 years. Limitations: Data were self-reported and restricted to past-year suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. Conclusion: The increase in the death by suicide rate in the United States over the past 10 years was not mirrored by the proportion of individuals with past-year suicidal ideation who attempted suicide during this period.

EDITORIAL: Migration and competitiveness: Japan and the United States

2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 115-124
Author(s):  
Philip L. Martin
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Variable Cost ◽  
Fixed Cost ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Science And Engineering ◽  
The Past ◽  
Past Half Century ◽  
Key Sectors ◽  
Past Half

Japan and the United States, the world’s largest economies for most of the past half century, have very different immigration policies. Japan is the G7 economy most closed to immigrants, while the United States is the large economy most open to immigrants. Both Japan and the United States are debating how immigrants are and can con-tribute to the competitiveness of their economies in the 21st centuries. The papers in this special issue review the employment of and impacts of immigrants in some of the key sectors of the Japanese and US economies, including agriculture, health care, science and engineering, and construction and manufacturing. For example, in Japanese agriculture migrant trainees are a fixed cost to farmers during the three years they are in Japan, while US farmers who hire mostly unauthorized migrants hire and lay off workers as needed, making labour a variable cost.

Democratic Legitimacy

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pierre Rosanvallon
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Democratic Legitimacy ◽  
Political Leaders ◽  
Constitutional Courts ◽  
International Debate ◽  
The Past ◽  
Democratic Authority ◽  
Original Contribution ◽  
Western Democracies

It's a commonplace occurrence that citizens in Western democracies are disaffected with their political leaders and traditional democratic institutions. But this book argues that this crisis of confidence is partly a crisis of understanding. The book makes the case that the sources of democratic legitimacy have shifted and multiplied over the past thirty years and that we need to comprehend and make better use of these new sources of legitimacy in order to strengthen our political self-belief and commitment to democracy. Drawing on examples from France and the United States, the book notes that there has been a major expansion of independent commissions, NGOs, regulatory authorities, and watchdogs in recent decades. At the same time, constitutional courts have become more willing and able to challenge legislatures. These institutional developments, which serve the democratic values of impartiality and reflexivity, have been accompanied by a new attentiveness to what the book calls the value of proximity, as governing structures have sought to find new spaces for minorities, the particular, and the local. To improve our democracies, we need to use these new sources of legitimacy more effectively and we need to incorporate them into our accounts of democratic government. This book is an original contribution to the vigorous international debate about democratic authority and legitimacy.

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