Oral exposure to lead for Japanese children and pregnant women, estimated using duplicate food portions and house dust analyses

Ohtsu, Mayumi; Mise, Nathan; Ikegami, Akihiko; Mizuno, Atsuko; Kobayashi, Yayoi; Nakagi, Yoshihiko; Nohara, Keiko; Yoshida, Toshihide; Kayama, Fujio

doi:10.1186/s12199-019-0818-4

Cited by 14 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 50 publications

(64 reference statements)

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“…In a Japanese study (2019), the weekly Pb exposure for children aged 1–3.5 years was 3.28 ± 0.26 μg/kg BW/week. Pb concentration was higher in children than in adults, but it did not exceed the acceptable standard [ 38 ]. In another study, the content of Pb was 1.27 μg/kg BW/day, which is 35.3% of the TDI.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Health Safety Assessment of Ready-to-Eat Products Consumed by Children Aged 0.5–3 Years on the Polish Market

et al. 2022

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Toxic elements have a negative impact on health, especially among infants and young children. Even low levels of exposure can impair the normal growth and development of children. In young children, all organs and metabolic processes are insufficiently developed, making them particularly vulnerable to the effects of toxic elements. The aim of this study is to estimate the concentration of toxic elements in products consumed by infants and young children. The health risk of young children due to consumption of ready-made products potentially contaminated with As (arsenic), Cd (cadmium), Hg (mercury), and Pb (lead) was also assessed. A total of 397 samples (dinners, porridges, mousses, snacks “for the handle”, baby drinks, dairy) were analyzed for the content of toxic elements. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was used to assess As, Cd, and Pb concentration. The determination of Hg was performed by atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS). In order to estimate children’s exposure to toxic elements, the content of indicators was also assessed: estimated daily intake (EDI), estimated weekly intake (EWI), provisional tolerable weekly intake (PTWI), provisional tolerable monthly intake (PTMI), the benchmark dose lower confidence limit (BMDL), target hazard quotient (THQ), hazard index (HI), and cancer risk (CR). The average content of As, Cd, Hg, and Pb for all ready-made products for children is: 1.411 ± 0.248 µg/kg, 2.077 ± 0.154 µg/kg, 3.161 ± 0.159 µg/kg, and 9.265 ± 0.443 µg/kg, respectively. The highest content As was found in wafer/crisps (84.71 µg/kg); in the case of Cd, dinners with fish (20.15 µg/kg); for Hg, dinners with poultry (37.25 µg/kg); and for Pb, fruit mousse (138.99 µg/kg). The results showed that 4.53% of the samples attempted to exceed Pb, and 1.5% exceeded levels of Hg. The highest value of THQ was made in the case of drinks, for Cd and Pb in mousses for children, and Hg for dairy products. The THQ, BMDL, and PTWI ratios were not exceeded. The analyzed ready-to-eat products for children aged 0.5–3 years may contain toxic elements, but most of them appear to be harmless to health.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Health Safety Assessment of Ready-to-Eat Products Consumed by Children Aged 0.5–3 Years on the Polish Market

et al. 2022

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“…Lead exposure from other sources, such as house dust, soil, and toys, in Japan was estimated using the results of previous studies [27][28][29] . Some studies have indicated that exposure from non-dietary sources might be important in children 30,31) ; however, the estimated values of the contribution of non-dietary sources to the overall lead exposure were highly variable depending on the studies and thus no representative value could be derived.…”

Section: Exposure From Various Sourcesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Commentary on the Risk Assessment of Lead by the Food Safety Commission of Japan

Irie

2022

Food Safety

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This article describes in detail the process of and the basis for the risk assessment of lead, started as a self-tasking assessment in April 2008 and finalized in June 2021 by the Food Safety Commission of Japan (FSCJ). Discussion points addressed in the working group set under the FSCJ in April 2019 are also presented in this commentary. To reflect the overall exposure to lead from various sources, blood lead level (BLL) was used as the basic metric for the assessment. For the evaluation of effects on human health, the approach of overall weight of evidence was taken, rather than selecting one critical endpoint, in consideration of the uncertainties inherent to epidemiological studies, particularly those examining the effects associated with low-level lead exposure. The overall evidence compiled for the assessment suggested that BLLs in the range of 1-2 μg/ dL might be associated with some effects on human health. The representative value of BLL for the entire population was difficult to obtain due to the lack of a national population-based survey in Japan. Instead, the current average BLL of the Japanese population was estimated based on recent studies conducted in Japan. The estimated average exposure level was below or equal to 1 μg/dL and close to the levels at which some effects on human health might occur, as suggested by epidemiological studies. Hence, the continued enforcement of measures to reduce lead exposure is indispensable. Furthermore, a national human biomonitoring program to continuously assess the exposure status of the Japanese population, which can be ultimately used for assuring the effectiveness of control measures, is needed.

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“…Further exposures which may be associated with elevated BLC were not included in our analyses and may therefore give rise to residual confounding; for example, housing tenancy (owned or rented) [18,51] parental occupation [52,53], ethnicity [17], other sources of exposure, diet, contaminated land, soil quality or contaminated consumer products [6,19,20,38,41,54]. Additionally, some case characteristics used ecological proxy measures based on area (e.g., deprivation, housing age and type) which may be inaccurate, leading to misclassification.…”

Section: Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Children with pica are known to pick at and/or chew surfaces in the home painted with lead paint and this can be a source of lead exposure (photo courtesy of Rebecca Ingham, Advanced Health Protection Practitioner, Yorkshire and Humber Health Protection Team (HPT), UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), 2021) paint was the source of lead concentration in dust, which was correlated with age of housing (p = 0.036) [19]. Food and house dust have also been found to be key sources of lead contamination in the home [20], along with outdoor soil [21], household dust from kitchen floors and ingress of dust indoors from outdoor sources [22]. Given the expectation that older houses and houses with gardens are more likely to contain lead in various forms, it would seem reasonable to evaluate whether there is also an association between BLC and housing age and type in the UK.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

’As safe as houses; the risk of childhood lead exposure from housing in England and implications for public health’

Crabbe¹,

Verlander²,

Iqbal³

et al. 2022

BMC Public Health

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Background and aim: Exposure to lead can harm a child's health, including damage to the nervous system, delayed growth, hearing loss, and many other adverse health effects, as well as implications for social, economic, educational and social well-being. Lead exposure in children is still a concern and cases require public health management to find the exposure source and interrupt the exposure pathway. Housing characteristics can indicate the presence of leadcontaminated paint and leaded water supply pipes. We aimed to explore the relationship between housing characteristics and elevated blood lead concentration (BLC) in children in England. Methods:We used a retrospective cohort design and included all cases of lead exposure in children reported to the UK Health Security Agency between 2014 and 2020 via surveillance. A case was a child aged under 16 years, resident in England, BLC of ≥ 0.48 μmol/L (10 µg/dL) and referred for public health management. We collected case demographic details and housing characteristics (age and type). We explored associations between elevated BLC and risk factors, using generalised linear mixed effects models and compared cases' housing type to that expected nationally. Results:Two hundred and sixty-six out of 290 cases met the case definition. There was no difference in BLCs between genders, age groups, deprivation, and housing type. After adjusting for reporting source, housing age and type, cases residing in housing built pre-1976 had a BLC of 0.32 (95%CI 0.02, 0.63) µmols/L (6.63 (95%CI 0.42, 13.0) µg/ dL) higher than cases living in housing built after this time. Cases were 1.68 times more likely to be living in terraced housing (housing adjoined to one another) than other children and less likely to live in apartments and detached properties. Conclusion:This study suggests an association between housing characteristics and BLC in children. Housing age and type may act as a proxy for lead exposure risk through exposure to leaded paint, lead water pipes, and lead contaminated dust from indoor and outdoor sources. Public health action should consider targeting families more at risk in older housing by raising awareness of the potential presence of lead pipes and paint. Interventions should include working with wider stakeholders including other housing and environmental professionals, the private sector, as well as parents and carers.

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Oral exposure to lead for Japanese children and pregnant women, estimated using duplicate food portions and house dust analyses

Cited by 14 publications

References 50 publications

Health Safety Assessment of Ready-to-Eat Products Consumed by Children Aged 0.5–3 Years on the Polish Market

Health Safety Assessment of Ready-to-Eat Products Consumed by Children Aged 0.5–3 Years on the Polish Market

Commentary on the Risk Assessment of Lead by the Food Safety Commission of Japan

’As safe as houses; the risk of childhood lead exposure from housing in England and implications for public health’

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