Lead levels in breast milk and blood were determined in women living within a 200-m radius of 3 smelters in Mexico City. All samples were analyzed on a Perkin Elmer 460 atomic absorption spectrometer equipped with HGA 2200. The mean blood lead level was 45.88 micrograms/dl (SD 19.88 microgram/dl), and the geometric mean of milk lead level was 2.47 micrograms/100 ml. The correlation coefficient of these two variables was 0.88. Using the mean value of lead found in breast milk, an infant of 5.5 kg would ingest 8.1 micrograms/kg/d in his diet. The daily permissible intake (DPI) established by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1972 for an adult is 5.0 micrograms/kg/d.

The massive use of preventive measures in Mexico including fluoride toothpaste, a national program of salt fluoridation and education on prevention has resulted in a large decline in dental caries over the past two decades. There does however remain a largely unmet need for restorative treatment. This paper describes the steps leading up to the adoption of a strategy, as part of general health policy, to use Atraumatic Restorative Treatment (ART) within the Mexican public health service as a means to address this. This included the development of training materials, the organization of training courses for existing dentists and the incorporation of ART into the undergraduate curriculum. Results: Six years after the introduction of ART in the year 2000, it was estimated that over 2 million ART procedures had been provided. As part of the planning cycle, an evaluation was undertaken in 2008 to determine amongst Mexican dentists what were the perceived problems when implementing the ART approach. Such research identified that the scarcity of appropriate dental materials and the lack of suitable instruments were the major problems. In addition, a preliminary evaluation of ART restorations and sealants placed as part of this National Oral Health Program was undertaken. The survival outcomes after one year compared favorably with one other study conducted in Mexico but were somewhat lower than the results reported from a number of other countries. Conclusion: The ambitious and forward thinking policy for improving the oral health in Mexico is now showing dividends. One example is the ART strategy, which has been successful both in terms of the number of ART procedures provided and generally in terms of clinical outcomes.

A study was conducted in two elementary schools in Mexico City to determine values for pulmonary function tests in school-aged residents of Mexico City. The schools were located in Xalostoc, a highly industrialized area of Mexico City, and San Lorenzo, a suburban area of the city. Although data regarding atmospheric pollution were not available, there is an acknowledged higher level of macroenvironmental air pollution in Xalostoc. Pulmonary function tests were performed on 468 children in San Lorenzo and 405 children in Xalostoc. No differences between residents of the two communities for acute or chronic respiratory conditions were detected by questionnaire. The pulmonary function data demonstrate that boys have larger forced vital capacities (FVC) and forced expiratory flows over the middle half of the FVC (FEF25-75) than girls. Slopes of regression lines for FVC but not for FEF25-75 are greater in boys and girls from Xalostoc than in boys and girls from San Lorenzo. This suggests that young children from Xalostoc may experience ill effects of air pollution but develop catch-up growth later. There were no important community or gender effects on slopes of regression lines for height and weight on age. In general, the regression lines for FVC and FEF25-75 were below regression lines reported for children of Mexican ancestry living at sea level.