Blood Lead Concentrations of Children in the United States: A Comparison of States Using Two Very Large Databases

Area of Science:

• Environmental Health
• Pediatric Public Health
• Toxicology

Background:

• Elevated blood lead levels (BLLs) in children pose significant health risks.
• Understanding geographic disparities in BLLs is crucial for targeted interventions.
• Previous studies have highlighted specific environmental lead exposure events, such as in Flint, Michigan.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare state-level differences in the proportion of children with elevated BLLs using two large datasets.
• To identify states with high percentages of elevated BLLs in either or both datasets.
• To benchmark state BLLs against those recorded in Flint, Michigan, during its lead water contamination period.

Main Methods:

• Utilized Quest Diagnostics and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) datasets for 2014-2015.
• Included over 3 million BLLs for children under 6 years old.
• Compared state-specific BLL data between the two datasets and with Flint, Michigan's BLL data.

Main Results:

• Significant state-by-state variations in BLLs were observed between the Quest Diagnostics and CDC datasets.
• For some states, BLL percentages were similar across datasets; for others, substantial differences emerged.
• Certain states exhibited higher percentages of elevated BLLs (≥5.0 µg/dL) than those seen in Flint during its lead exposure crisis.

Conclusions:

• The study provides valuable state-specific data on children's BLLs, highlighting geographic disparities.
• Findings can inform pediatricians and public health officials in designing state-level lead exposure reduction programs.
• The data supports both primary prevention of lead exposure and secondary prevention through early identification of elevated BLLs.