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Prenatal lead exposure and fetal growth: Smaller infants have heightened susceptibility

Rodosthenis S Rodosthenous1, Heather H Burris2, Katherine Svensson3

  • 1Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.

Environment International
|December 8, 2016
PubMed

Insights

Prenatal lead exposure negatively impacts fetal growth. Infants with poor fetal growth appear more susceptible to lead toxicity, highlighting a critical public health concern.

Area of Science:

  • Environmental Health
  • Perinatal Epidemiology
  • Toxicology

Background:

  • Declining population lead levels may shift toxic effects to vulnerable subpopulations.
  • Infants with suboptimal fetal growth are a potential high-risk group for lead toxicity.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the relationship between prenatal lead exposure and fetal growth.
  • To assess if infants with poor fetal growth exhibit increased susceptibility to lead toxicity.

Main Methods:

  • Examined maternal blood lead levels (BLL) in the second trimester and birthweight-for-gestational age (BWGA) z-score in 944 mother-infant pairs.
  • Employed linear and quantile regression to analyze BLL association with BWGA z-score.
  • Used logistic regression to estimate odds ratios for small-for-gestational age (SGA) infants across BLL quartiles, controlling for confounders.

Main Results:

  • Linear regression indicated a negative association between maternal BLL and BWGA z-score (P=0.06).
  • Quantile regression demonstrated a stronger negative association in lower BWGA z-score percentiles (<30th).
  • Mothers in the highest BLL quartile had a 1.62 odds ratio for SGA infants compared to the lowest quartile.

Conclusions:

  • Prenatal lead exposure is associated with reduced birthweight.
  • Infants with lower birthweight may be a more susceptible subpopulation to the adverse effects of lead.
  • Findings underscore the importance of minimizing lead exposure during pregnancy.
Abstract

Keywords:
Birth weightFetal growthLeadPregnancyQuantile regressionSmall-for-gestational age

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