The effect of lead exposure on behavior problems in preschool children
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Published on: March 6, 2018
G A Wasserman1, B Staghezza-Jaramillo, P Shrout
1Department of Child Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York State Psychiatric Institute, NY 10032, USA.
Insights
This study found that while blood lead exposure is linked to preschool behavior problems, social factors have a much larger impact. Lead exposure showed small but significant associations with destructive and withdrawn behaviors.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Health
- Developmental Psychology
- Pediatrics
Background:
- Interpreting lead exposure and child behavior links is challenging due to confounding sociodemographic factors and unreliable exposure markers.
- Previous studies often lacked adequate control for crucial variables, hindering accurate assessment of lead's impact on behavior.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the associations between blood lead levels and behavior problems in preschool-aged children.
- To control for sociodemographic factors and infant temperament when examining lead-behavior relationships.
Main Methods:
- Prospective follow-up of children from pregnancy to age 3 in a lead-exposed and a control town.
- Utilized the Child Behavior Checklist for 379 3-year-olds, controlling for sociodemographic variables and infant temperament.
Main Results:
- Sociodemographic factors explained 7-18% of the variance in behavior problems.
- Blood lead levels significantly explained 1-4% of the variance in destructive and withdrawn behaviors.
- Increased blood lead from 10 to 20 µg/dL correlated with a 0.5-point increase in destructive behavior scores.
Conclusions:
- Lead exposure shows statistically significant, yet small, associations with preschool behavior problems.
- Social factors exert a considerably larger influence on child behavior than lead exposure.
Objectives:
Interpreting associations between lead exposure and child behavior problems is difficult because studies have not controlled for sociodemographic confounders or have used shed teeth to mark exposure. This study explored associations between blood lead and preschool behavior.
Methods:
Children from a smelter town and a non-lead-exposed town in Yugoslavia were followed up prospectively from pregnancy through age 3. The Child Behavior Checklist was used to assess behavior problems in 379 3-year-olds, controlling for sociodemographic factors and difficult infant temperament.
Results:
Multiple regression revealed the expected significant associations between checklist subscales and sociodemographic factors, which explained 7% to 18% of the variance on the subscales. Concurrent blood lead explained a significant 1% to 4% of the variance on the Destructive and Withdrawn subscales. Earlier difficult temperament explained an additional 2% to 5% of the checklist variance. Scores on the Destructive subscale were consistently associated with blood lead. As blood lead increased from 10 to 20 micrograms/dL, subscale scores increased by approximately 0.5 points.
Conclusions:
Lead/behavior associations are significant but small compared with the effects of social factors.
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