Assessment of early-life lead exposure in rural Bangladesh

Bergkvist, Charlotte; Kippler, Maria; Hamadani, Jena D.; Grandér, Margaretha; Tofail, Fahmida; Berglund, Marika; Vahter, Marie

doi:10.1016/j.envres.2010.07.004

Cited by 45 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…In September 2013, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced voluntary recall by distributors of Pran brand turmeric powder, a Bangladeshi company, due to elevated levels of lead [10]. Additional studies identified the presence of contaminated spices originating from India and Bangladesh in markets in Boston, MA [11–13]. This study builds upon these reports by identifying turmeric as a potential direct exposure route within a vulnerable community.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contaminated Turmeric Is a Potential Source of Lead Exposure for Children in Rural Bangladesh

Gleason¹,

Shine²,

Shobnam

et al. 2014

Journal of Environmental and Public Health

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Background. During the conduct of a cohort study intended to study the associations between mixed metal exposures and child health outcomes, we found that 78% of 309 children aged 20–40 months evaluated in the Munshiganj District of Bangladesh had blood lead concentrations ≥5 µg/dL and 27% had concentrations ≥10 µg/dL. Hypothesis. Environmental sources such as spices (e.g., turmeric, which has already faced recalls in Bangladesh due to high lead levels) may be a potential route of lead exposure. Methods. We conducted visits to the homes of 28 children randomly selected from among high and low blood lead concentration groups. During the visits, we administered a structured questionnaire and obtained soil, dust, rice, and spice samples. We obtained water samples from community water sources, as well as environmental samples from neighborhood businesses. Results. Lead concentrations in many turmeric samples were elevated, with lead concentrations as high as 483 ppm. Analyses showed high bioaccessibility of lead. Conclusions. Contamination of turmeric powder is a potentially important source of lead exposure in this population.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contaminated Turmeric Is a Potential Source of Lead Exposure for Children in Rural Bangladesh

Gleason¹,

Shine²,

Shobnam

et al. 2014

Journal of Environmental and Public Health

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“…However, U-Pb is likely to have a larger day-to-day variation than blood-lead, and we only had maternal U-Pb concentrations in early pregnancy for a subsample of the mothers. Also, the exposure at this point in time may not adequately reflect the exposure during later fetal development and during breast-feeding, because blood lead concentrations increased markedly during pregnancy and lactation, particularly in undernourished mothers (Bergkvist et al 2010). Thus, further studies are needed to clarify potential associations between lead exposure and child development in this population.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Details of sample collection, analytical method, and quality control have been described elsewhere (Kippler et al 2009, 2010b, 2012b). Because both arsenic, commonly present in well water in the study area, and lead are known to affect child development (Grandjean and Landrigan 2006; Hamadani et al 2011), we considered these exposures as well, using urinary concentrations of arsenic (U-As) and lead (U-Pb) (Bergkvist et al 2010; Gardner et al 2011). To compensate for variation in urine dilution, all measured concentrations were adjusted for specific gravity (Nermell et al 2008).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Early-Life Cadmium Exposure and Child Development in 5-Year-Old Girls and Boys: A Cohort Study in Rural Bangladesh

Kippler

Tofail

Hamadani

et al. 2012

Environ Health Perspect

184

106

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Background: Cadmium is a commonly occurring toxic food contaminant, but health consequences of early-life exposure are poorly understood.Objectives: We evaluated the associations between cadmium exposure and neurobehavioral development in preschool children.Methods: In our population-based mother–child cohort study in rural Bangladesh, we assessed cadmium exposure in 1,305 women in early pregnancy and their children at 5 years of age by measuring concentrations in urine (U-Cd), using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Children’s IQ at 5 years of age, including Verbal (VIQ), Performance (PIQ), and Full-Scale IQ (FSIQ), were measured by Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence. Behavior was assessed by the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ).Results: In multiple linear regression models, adjusted for sex, home stimulation, socioeconomic status (SES), and maternal and child characteristics, a doubling of maternal U-Cd was inversely associated with VIQ (–0.84 points; 95% confidence interval: –1.3, –0.40), PIQ (–0.64 points; –1.1, –0.18), and FSIQ (–0.80 points; –1.2, –0.39). Concurrent child U-Cd showed somewhat weaker association with VIQ and FSIQ, but not PIQ. Stratification by sex and SES indicated slightly stronger associations with PIQ and FSIQ in girls than in boys and in higher-income compared with lower-income families. Concurrent U-Cd was inversely associated with SDQ-prosocial behavior and positively associated with SDQ-difficult behavior, but associations were close to the null after adjustment. Quantile regression analysis showed similar associations across the whole range of each developmental outcome.Conclusion: Early-life low-level cadmium exposure was associated with lower child intelligence scores in our study cohort. Further research in this area is warranted.

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“…Urinary arsenic, defined as the total concentration of the metabolites of inorganic arsenic (inorganic arsenic + monomethylarsonic acid (MMA) + dimethylarsinic acid (DMA)), was determined by high-performance liquid chromatography (Agilent 1100 Series system; Agilent Technologies, Waldbronn, Germany) coupled with hydride generation and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (Agilent 7500ce; Agilent Technologies) for all children at both 1.5 and 5 years of age (25, 27, 28) and by hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry for maternal samples (26). Measurement of cadmium (mass-to-charge ratio, 111) and lead (mass-to-charge ratio, 208) was also performed with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry for maternal samples and children's samples at age 5 years (29, 30). The between-assay coefficient of variation was 2.0% for maternal total urinary arsenic (26) and 6.8% and 5.8% for DMA in children's samples at ages 1.5 years (27) and 5 years (25), respectively.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental Exposure to Metals and Children's Growth to Age 5 Years: A Prospective Cohort Study

Gardner

Kippler²,

Tofail³

et al. 2013

American Journal of Epidemiology

138

113

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In this prospective cohort study, based on 1,505 mother-infant pairs in rural Bangladesh, we evaluated the associations between early-life exposure to arsenic, cadmium, and lead, assessed via concentrations in maternal and child urine, and children's weights and heights up to age 5 years, during the period 2001–2009. Concurrent and prenatal exposures were evaluated using linear regression analysis, while longitudinal exposure was assessed using mixed-effects linear regression. An inverse association was found between children's weight and height, age-adjusted z scores, and growth velocity at age 5 years and concurrent exposure to cadmium and arsenic. In the longitudinal analysis, multivariable-adjusted attributable differences in children's weight at age 5 years were −0.33 kg (95% confidence interval (CI): −0.60, −0.06) for high (≥95th percentile) arsenic exposure and −0.57 kg (95% CI: −0.88, −0.26) for high cadmium exposure, in comparison with children with the lowest exposure (≤5th percentile). Multivariable-adjusted attributable differences in height were −0.50 cm (95% CI: −1.20, 0.21) for high arsenic exposure and −1.6 cm (95% CI: −2.4, −0.77) for high cadmium exposure. The associations were apparent primarily among girls. The negative effects on children's growth at age 5 years attributable to arsenic and cadmium were of similar magnitude to the difference between girls and boys in terms of weight (−0.67 kg, 95% CI: −0.82, −0.53) and height (−1.3 cm, 95% CI: −1.7, −0.89).

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Assessment of early-life lead exposure in rural Bangladesh

Cited by 45 publications

References 43 publications

Contaminated Turmeric Is a Potential Source of Lead Exposure for Children in Rural Bangladesh

Contaminated Turmeric Is a Potential Source of Lead Exposure for Children in Rural Bangladesh

Early-Life Cadmium Exposure and Child Development in 5-Year-Old Girls and Boys: A Cohort Study in Rural Bangladesh

Environmental Exposure to Metals and Children's Growth to Age 5 Years: A Prospective Cohort Study

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