Relationships Between Dietary Patterns And Low Level Lead Exposure Among Children From Hunan Province of China

Abstract

Background: Lead (Pb) is a potent environmental toxic metal. Few studies have focused on low-level Pb exposure in children. This study evaluated the relationships of dietary patterns with low-level Pb exposure in children from Hunan province of China.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in a single primary school, located in Hunan Province. In total, 425 children were recruited. Principal component analysis was used to identify dietary patterns based on dietary intake from a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). The blood lead level (BLLs) was measured. Multivariate regression analysis was used to investigate the correlations of BLLs with dietary patterns. Results: Three dietary patterns were identified: balanced, plant, and beverage and snack. The concentration of blood lead (median (IQR)) was 2 (2, 15.96) μg /L. Only 0.24% children’s BLLs were >100 µg/L and 1.18% children’s BLLs were >50 µg/L. No significant risk association was found between dietary patterns and BLLs by logistic regression analysis based on 50th percentile (P50) of blood lead. However, children’s gender of girl decreased the risk of BLLs (AOR=0.57, 95% CI: 0.38, 0.85, P=0.006). The plant pattern had weekly positive association with log-Pb (B=0.04, 95% CI: 0.00, 0.08, P=0.035) in group of > P50 by linear regression analysis.Conclusions: BLLs was low among children aged 4–7 years in Hunan province of China. Low BLLs had no association with dietary pattern, mediated by some confounding factors, such as gender. However, diet may become an important source of blood lead with increasing blood lead levels.