A clinical study of the effects of lead poisoning on the intelligence and neurobehavioral abilities of children

Abstract

BackgroundLead is a heavy metal and important environmental toxicant and nerve poison that can destruction many functions of the nervous system. Lead poisoning is a medical condition caused by increased levels of lead in the body. Lead interferes with a variety of body processes and is toxic to many organs and issues, including the central nervous system. It interferes with the development of the nervous system, and is therefore particularly toxic to children, causing potentially permanent neural and cognitive impairments. In this study, we investigated the relationship between lead poisoning and the intellectual and neurobehavioral capabilities of children.MethodsThe background characteristics of the research subjects were collected by questionnaire survey. Blood lead levels were detected by differential potentiometric stripping analysis (DPSA). Intelligence was assessed using the Gesell Developmental Scale. The Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) was used to evaluate each child’s behavior.ResultsBlood lead levels were significantly negatively correlated with the developmental quotients of adaptive behavior, gross motor performance, fine motor performance, language development, and individual social behavior (P < 0.01). Compared with healthy children, more children with lead poisoning had abnormal behaviors, especially social withdrawal, depression, and atypical body movements, aggressions and destruction.ConclusionLead poisoning has adverse effects on the behavior and mental development of 2–4-year-old children, prescribing positive and effective precautionary measures.

Relationship of lead and essential elements in whole blood from school-age children in Nanning, China

“…However, lead exposure, even at low concentration, can cause metabolic disorder of other metallic elements in the body [8,16,17]. Some studies found that elevated BLL will decrease the plasma concentration of Fe, Ca and other nutritional metallic elements [18].…”

“…Environmental lead exposure, affecting both adults and children, is increasingly becoming a healthy concern [2,3]. Pb enters into the body mainly through the respiratory system and the digestive tract, and causes a series of documented adverse effects particularly in the nervous systems [4][5][6], such as developmental delays, insomnia, irritability, tremors, hearing loss, deficits in behavioral functioning, impaired cognitive and learning abilities, and social withdrawal [7][8][9]. Since children have underdeveloped and inadequate blood brain barrier, unrestricted Pb accumulation in the brain will eventually disrupt neural signal transduction and irreversibly damage the nervous system [10][11][12][13].…”

Lead Poisoning: Awareness in Medical and Non-Medical Population of Karachi

“…Post hoc analysis Tukey's analysis was done and P values were expressed showing significance difference of data. [22]. Lead accumulates in the environment and contaminates the water, soil, air and food chain leading to human diseases.…”

A Preliminary Examination of Elevated Blood Lead Levels in a Rural Georgia County

“…Studies have shown that increased blood lead levels in young children are associated with neurobehavioral and cognitive abilities (Hou et al, 2013) including lower reading readiness (McLaine, et al, 2013) and lower 4 th grade reading and math scores (Miranda et al, 2007). Assessing and preventing lead exposures are often overlooked in rural communities but are important to rural children's learning ability.…”