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[Chronic exposure to environmental lead in Chilean infants. II: Effects on the psychomotor development]
1Departamento de Salud Pública, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile. vega@med.puc.cl
Insights
This study found no significant impact of lead exposure on neurobehavioral development in Chilean infants up to 24 months. Factors like socioeconomic status and home stimulation were more influential than lead levels.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Health
- Pediatric Toxicology
- Neurodevelopmental Pediatrics
Background:
- Lactating children are highly vulnerable to lead toxicity due to immature nervous systems and higher absorption rates.
- Lead exposure poses significant health risks, particularly to developing neurological functions in infants.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the effects of lead exposure on neurobehavioral development in Chilean lactating children from rural (low exposure) and urban (high exposure) areas.
- To identify potential differences in developmental outcomes linked to varying environmental lead levels.
Main Methods:
- Recruited newborns from public maternity hospitals in rural San Felipe and urban Santiago, Chile.
- Collected maternal and umbilical cord blood samples, and assessed perinatal, sociohereditary, and lead exposure history.
- Monitored children for 24 months, assessing blood lead levels and neurobehavioral development using Bayley Scales.
Main Results:
- Children in urban Santiago exhibited higher blood lead levels compared to those in rural San Felipe.
- No significant differences in neurobehavioral development (MDI and PDI scores) were observed between the two groups at 24 months.
- Socioeconomic level, sex, and home stimulation were identified as significant risk factors for neurobehavioral development, not blood lead levels.
Conclusions:
- This study found no direct effect of lead exposure levels on the neurobehavioral development of Chilean children up to 24 months of age.
- Other factors such as socioeconomic status and home environment appear to play a more critical role in early childhood development outcomes.
Background:
Lactating children are specially susceptible to lead toxicity due to their underdeveloped nervous system, lower body mass, higher intestinal absorption and lower elimination rates.
Aim:
To determine the effects of lead exposure, comparing Chilean lactating children residing in rural areas with low lead exposure, and in urban areas with high lead exposure.
Material And Methods:
Newborns from public maternity hospitals of the rural locality of San Felipe and from Metropolitan Santiago, were recruited for the study. On admission to the study, umbilical cord and maternal blood samples were obtained and an inquiry about perinatal, sociohereditary and lead exposure history was done. Children were followed every 6 months until 24 months of age, measuring blood parameters and neurobehavioral development using Bayley scales.
Results:
Three hundred twelve children from Santiago and 113 from San Felipe were studied. Maternal and children blood lead levels were higher in Santiago, but lower than those reported in other international studies. At 24 months of age, 4.5% of children from Santiago and 0.7% of children from San Felipe had levels over 10 micrograms/dl. No differences in neurobehavioral development were observed between children of both cities. At 24 months, scores of MDI scales were 91 in Santiago and 97 in San Felipe. The figures for PDI scale were 93 in Santiago and 93 in San Felipe. Main risk factors for a retarded neurobehavioral development were socieconomic level with a mean Odds ratio of 3.5 (0.99-12.4), made sex with an Odds ratio of 2.3 (1.09-5.07) and stimulation at home with an Odds ratio of 0.7 (0.53-0.82).
Conclusions:
In this cohort of children, no effect of lead levels on neurobehavioral development was found.