Impacts of elevated blood lead level on children's hyperactivity/impulsivity
LIN Yanfen, XU Jian
Department of Developmental and Behavioural Pediatrics, MOE-Shanghai Key Laboratory of Children's Environmental Health, Shanghai Institute for Pediatric Research, Xinhua Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200092, China
Abstract：Objective To investigate the effect of elevated blood lead levels on children's behaviors. Methods A total of 88 children with blood lead level ≥ 100 μg/Lwere recruited as the lead exposure group and the control group, respectively. Administrated questionaires were used to collect the socio-demographic characteristics and lead exposure sources of subjects. Child Behavior Rating Scale was used to evaluate the conduct problems, learning problems, psychosomatic disorder, impulsivity-hyperactivity, anxiety, and hyperactivity index in both groups. Multivariable binary logistic regression models were used to associate blood lead and children's behaviors. Results Maternal education level and family yearly income were higher in the control group than in the exposure group. Compared with the control group, the exposure group had higher risks of behavioral problems in the domains of impulsivity-hyperactivity (OR=2.9; 95% CI: 1.1, 8.0; P=0.035) and hyperactivity index (OR=2.9; 95% CI: 1.1, 7.9; P=0.037). Conclusion High levels of lead have an adverse effect on child hyperactivity/impulsivity behaviors. Effevtive measurements are required to ensure the healthy growth of children.
