Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 11, 2026
Handheld Metal Detector Screening for Metallic Foreign Body Ingestion in Children
Published on: September 11, 2018
Blood lead level in Bangkok children
S Ruangkanchanasetr1, J Suepiantham, C Tapsart
1Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand.
Unlabelled:
Lead poisoning is one of the most harmful pollutant in children since it permanently effects the growth and intelligence.
Objective:
To evaluate the lead problem in Bangkok children and identify risk factors and impact associated with high lead levels (> 10 micrograms/dL).
Materials And Methods:
The longitudinal study (N = 84) followed blood lead levels at birth, 6, 12, 18 and 24 months of age. Also multiple cross-sectional studies comprising of children under 15 years of age attending the outpatient clinic, Ramathibodi Hospital (N = 511), kindergartens (N = 60) and secondary school students (N = 377) in Bangkok were conducted. The control for under 2 year-old children (N = 188) were those attending Metapracharak Hospital, Nakornprathom Province. Physical examinations were performed by pediatricians. Blood lead levels were assessed by Atomic Absorption Spectrometry. Questionnaires to identify risk factors were completed by parents of under 2-year-old children. Standford Binet tests were performed by psychologists for assessing the IQ in the longitudinal group at 2 years of age.
Results:
The mean blood lead levels were increasing with age from 5.57 +/- 2.31 micrograms/dL at birth, to 4.75 +/- 3.25 micrograms/dL at 2 years of age, 6.74 +/- 2.02 micrograms/dL in kindergartens, and 9.03 +/- 3.65 micrograms/dL in secondary school students. They were in the acceptable range. However, the proportion of blood lead higher than 10 micrograms/dL were increasing from 1 to 6, 10 per cent at birth to 6 per cent at 2 years of age, 10 per cent in kindergartens and 35 per cent in secondary school students. The mean lead level in Bangkok children under 2 years of age was higher than those of the control group in Nakornprathom province, but not statistically significant. In addition, there was no identified significant risk factor except that the high lead group had a higher mean age and larger family size than those in the low lead group. In the kindergartens and secondary school, males had higher lead levels than females in the same age group.
Conclusion:
The blood lead levels in Bangkok children were not as high as expected. On the contrary, they tended to decrease following the reduction of ambient lead levels due to unleaded gasoline usage.
More Related Videos
09:33Visualizing Field Data Collection Procedures of Exposure and Biomarker Assessments for the Household Air Pollution Intervention Network Trial in India
Published on: December 23, 2022
05:35A Point-of-Care Method with Integrated Decision Support Tool to Estimate Anemia at Population Level
Published on: January 19, 2024
Related Concept Videos
01:30Blood Pressure
The average BP in an adult is typically around 120/80 mmHg (millimeters of mercury). In this measurement, the numerator (120) indicates the systolic pressure, which is the pressure in the arteries during the contraction of the heart's ventricles as blood is expelled. The denominator (80) represents the diastolic...
01:28Factors affecting Blood pressure
Physiological Factors:
01:15Assessment of blood pressure in brachial artery(one-step method)
Prepare for the Procedure:
01:11Assessing Blood pressure in the Leg
Preparation:
01:28Special considerations while measuring blood pressure
Monitoring Both Arms:
Monitoring BP in both arms during the initial assessment is advisable, as the systolic value may differ by five to ten mm Hg between arms. For subsequent BP assessments, use the arm with the higher reading.