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Lead poisoning risk determination in a rural setting
S J Schaffer1, M S Kincaid, N Endres
1Department of Pediatrics, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, New York, USA.
Insights
A new questionnaire effectively identifies rural children with elevated blood lead levels, outperforming the CDC tool. This improved screening helps protect children
Area of Science:
- Environmental Health
- Pediatric Health
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Elevated blood lead levels (BLLs) in children pose significant health risks.
- Accurate risk assessment is crucial for early detection and intervention.
- Existing screening tools may have limitations in specific populations, such as rural areas.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the prevalence of elevated BLLs in rural children.
- To evaluate the effectiveness of the CDC Lead Risk Assessment Questionnaire.
- To develop and validate a more accurate screening tool for rural children.
Main Methods:
- A study was conducted in a rural county in upstate New York.
- 705 children aged 6-72 months were assessed using questionnaires and BLL testing.
- The CDC questionnaire was compared against an alternative, refined questionnaire.
Main Results:
- The CDC questionnaire identified 69% of children as high-risk, but showed no significant difference in BLLs compared to low-risk children.
- 8.4% of children had BLLs ≥ 10 µg/dL, and 2.1% had BLLs ≥ 15 µg/dL.
- An alternative questionnaire, incorporating specific risk factors, accurately identified children with elevated BLLs (88% for ≥ 10 µg/dL, 100% for ≥ 15 µg/dL).
Conclusions:
- The CDC Lead Risk Assessment Questionnaire has limited utility for identifying rural children with elevated BLLs.
- The developed alternative questionnaire demonstrates significant clinical utility for screening rural children.
- This new tool can improve the identification of children requiring further evaluation for lead poisoning.
Objectives:
To determine the prevalence of elevated blood lead levels among children living in a rural area and to determine the effectiveness of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Lead Risk Assessment Questionnaire and additional questionnaire items in correctly identifying rural children having elevated blood lead levels.
Research Design:
Comparison of results of a questionnaire that is intended to identify children as being at low or high risk for lead poisoning with children's blood lead levels.
Setting:
The three practice sites of the only pediatric group in a rural county of upstate New York.
Patients:
A consecutive sample of 705 children ages 6 to 72 months who were seen for health supervision visits between June and September 1993.
Results:
Sixty-nine percent of the children were considered to be at high risk for lead poisoning by the CDC questionnaire. Overall, 8.4% of the children in the study had blood lead levels of 10 micrograms/dL (0.48 mumol/L) or higher, and 2.1% had blood lead levels of 15 micrograms/dL (0.72 mumol/L) or higher. No significant difference was noted between the percentages of high- and low-risk children who had elevated blood lead levels. To devise a more effective lead risk assessment tool for children in this setting, the two items from the CDC questionnaire and the two additional items that had the greatest predictive utility were combined to form a short alternative questionnaire. The alternative questionnaire thus consisted of items concerning whether the child has a sibling or playmate with lead poisoning, whether the child lives near an industry that potentially may release lead, whether the child lives in rented or owner-occupied housing, and whether the child has a parent who is a migrant farm worker. Children categorized as high risk with the alternative questionnaire were much more likely to have elevated blood lead levels than those who were categorized as low risk. The alternative questionnaire was very effective in correctly identifying children with elevated blood lead levels. Eighty-eight percent of children having blood lead levels of 10 micrograms/dL or higher and 100% of children having blood lead levels of 15 micrograms/dL or higher were classified as high risk by the questionnaire. Children classified as low risk were very unlikely to have elevated blood lead levels; 98% of low-risk children had blood lead levels of less than 10 micrograms/dL, and 100% had blood lead levels of less than 15 micrograms/dL.
Conclusions:
These results suggest that the CDC lead risk assessment questionnaire is of limited benefit in identifying rural children with blood lead levels 10 micrograms/dL or higher or 15 micrograms/dL or higher. An alternative questionnaire, however, seems to have marked clinical utility for identifying rural children with elevated blood lead levels.