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Blood Lead Levels in Young Children: US, 2009-2015

Leland F McClure1, Justin K Niles1, Harvey W Kaufman1

  • 1Quest Diagnostics, Madison, NJ.

The Journal of Pediatrics
|June 15, 2016
PubMed

Insights

Blood lead levels in children under 6 generally declined over time, but 3.0% still showed high levels (≥5.0 μg/dL). Factors like housing age and poverty income ratio significantly impacted these elevated blood lead levels.

Area of Science:

  • Environmental Health
  • Pediatric Health
  • Public Health Surveillance

Background:

  • Childhood lead exposure remains a significant public health concern.
  • Previous data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) provided limited scope for detailed analysis.
  • A larger dataset is crucial for understanding trends and disparities in blood lead levels.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate trends in blood lead levels (BLLs) among children under 6 years of age.
  • To provide a more detailed and novel assessment of BLLs using a significantly larger dataset than NHANES.
  • To identify demographic and geographic factors associated with elevated BLLs.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective analysis of over 5 million blood lead level results from May 2009 to April 2015.
  • Inclusion of over 3.8 million venous blood lead level results from children under 6 years old across all 50 states and D.C.
  • Evaluation of yearly changes and analysis by sex, housing age, poverty income ratio (PIR), Medicaid status, and geographic regions.

Main Results:

  • 3.0% of children under 6 years had blood lead levels ≥5.0 μg/dL (high BLLs).
  • Significant disparities in high BLLs were observed based on sex, pre-1950s housing construction, and PIR (<1.25 and >5).
  • Marked geographic variations in high BLLs and very high BLLs (≥10.0 μg/dL) were noted, though overall levels generally declined over time.

Conclusions:

  • Analysis of over 5 million venous BLLs provided robust insights into geographic and demographic disparities.
  • Progress in reducing childhood lead toxicity is evident, but challenges persist.
  • Specific factors identified continue to pose significant risks, necessitating ongoing public health interventions.
Abstract

Keywords:
blood lead levelschildrenpoverty income ratiospre-1950s housing constructionregions

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