Lead Exposure and Developmental Disabilities in Preschool-Aged Children

Abstract

The results of this study are consistent with previous research identifying an association between lead exposure and numerous intellectual and educational outcomes and demonstrate that high BLL is associated with meeting eligibility criteria for developmental disabilities in young children. Continued research, surveillance, and prevention efforts are needed to further reduce the negative impacts of lead on individuals and society. Reducing or eliminating lead exposure would improve outcomes for individual children (eg, better academic performance) and reduce the burden to society (eg, lower enrollments in special education systems).

The legacy lead deposition in soils and its impact on cognitive function in preschool-aged children in the United States

“…It adds to the literature on the cognitive development (Sánchez (2017), Chen (2016), Fiorini and Keane (2014), Autor et al (2014), Spears (2012)) by looking at the effect of an overlooked environmental factor: exposure to lead in topsoil. Our results strengthen the associational evidence on the neurodevelopmental effects of lead exposure in children (Lanphear et al 2005, NTP 2012, AAP 2016, Geier et al 2017, Delgado et al 2018, Lee et al 2018, and provides further evidence that those detrimental effects on cognitive function are causal (Rau et al 2015, Sauve-Syed 2017, Aizer et al 2018, Billings and Schnepel 2018, Gronqvist et al 2018. Its main finding is concerning: it indicates that lead may continue to impair cognition today, both in the United States and in other countries that have significant amounts of lead in topsoil (Chen et al 2015, Tóth et al 2016.…”

Inaction on Lead Despite the Relevant Knowledge: Predictors, Covariates, and Outreach Implications

“…Despite the relatively high lead poisoning burden and being a site of active outreach, the percentage of children younger than three screened for lead in the county in 2014 was less than the state's average. This shows why it is important that outreach programs not only raise awareness but actually produce the desired actions against lead [41].…”

“…Such information can also be used to target the said individuals and allocate outreach resources efficiently. Multivariate regression can better isolate the effects of confounding variables, controlling for such relevant covariates to provide more robust results than does correlation analyses, making the sign, statistical significance, and magnitude of estimated coefficients more reliable [41]. In addition to understanding and accounting for disparities in lead exposure risk based on the variables included in the analyses, starting with a long list of potentially predictive variables also reduces the 'missing variable' problem and the likelihood for over/under estimating the effect of the variables included in the analyses.…”

“…This approach selects a subset of behavioral, attitudinal, and socio-economic variables and their respective structure in determining the regression equation best fitting the data. For a given maximum and a minimum entry and exit p value thresholds, this approach iteratively determines the optimal model [41].…”

A Community Development Program and Reduction in High-Cost Health Care Use

“…Neighborhood and housing factors have been shown to have an impact on a diverse set of child health outcomes, including asthma, injuries, substance use, and cognitive development. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7] Community development has the potential to reduce negative health outcomes by changing factors affecting whole communities. 8 Yet these programs face challenges in both implementation and evaluation.…”