Tracing the long-term legacy of childhood lead exposure: a review of three decades of the port Pirie cohort study. 2014

Amelia K Searle, and Peter A Baghurst, and Miranda van Hooff, and Michael G Sawyer, and Malcolm R Sim, and Cherrie Galletly, and Levina S Clark, and Alexander C McFarlane
Centre for Traumatic Stress Studies, School of Population Health, University of Adelaide, South Australia 5000, Australia. Electronic address: amelia.searle@adelaide.edu.au.

Several prospective cohort studies have demonstrated that childhood lead levels show small but statistically significant adjusted associations with subsequent development in later childhood and adolescence. The Port Pirie Cohort study is one of the few prospective cohort studies to follow participants into adulthood. This paper reviews all childhood and adulthood findings of the Port Pirie Cohort study to date. Cohort members (initially, 723 infants born in/around the lead-smelting town of Port Pirie) showed a wide range of childhood blood lead levels, which peaked around 2 years old (M=21.3μg/dL, SD=1.2). At all childhood assessments, postnatal lead levels - particularly those reflecting cumulative exposure - showed small significant associations with outcomes including cognitive development, IQ, and mental health problems. While associations were substantially attenuated after adjusting for several childhood covariates, many remained statistically significant. Furthermore, average childhood blood lead showed small significant associations with some adult mental health problems for females, including anxiety problems and phobia, though associations only approached significance following covariate adjustment. Overall, there did not appear to be any age of greatest vulnerability or threshold of effect, and at all ages, females appeared more susceptible to lead-associated deficits. Together, these findings suggest that the associations between early childhood lead exposure and subsequent developmental outcomes may persist. However, as the magnitude of these effects was small, they are not discernible at the individual level, posing more of a population health concern. It appears that the combination of multiple early childhood factors best predicts later development. As such, minimising lead exposure in combination with improving other important early childhood factors such as parent-child interactions may be the best way to improve developmental outcomes.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D007854 Lead A soft, grayish metal with poisonous salts; atomic number 82, atomic weight 207.2, symbol Pb.
D007855 Lead Poisoning Poisoning that results from chronic or acute ingestion, injection, inhalation, or skin absorption of LEAD or lead compounds. Poisoning, Lead,Lead Poisonings,Poisonings, Lead
D008297 Male Males
D010287 Parent-Child Relations The interactions between parent and child. Parent-Offspring Interaction,Parent Child Relationship,Parent-Child Relationship,Interaction, Parent-Offspring,Parent Child Relations,Parent Child Relationships,Parent Offspring Interaction,Parent-Child Relation,Parent-Child Relationships,Parent-Offspring Interactions,Relation, Parent-Child,Relationship, Parent Child,Relationship, Parent-Child
D002658 Developmental Disabilities Disorders in which there is a delay in development based on that expected for a given age level or stage of development. These impairments or disabilities originate before age 18, may be expected to continue indefinitely, and constitute a substantial impairment. Biological and nonbiological factors are involved in these disorders. (From American Psychiatric Glossary, 6th ed) Child Development Deviations,Child Development Disorders,Child Development Disorders, Specific,Developmental Delay Disorders,Disabilities, Developmental,Development Disorders, Child,Child Development Deviation,Child Development Disorder,Development Deviation, Child,Development Deviations, Child,Development Disorder, Child,Developmental Delay Disorder,Developmental Disability,Deviation, Child Development,Disability, Developmental
D002675 Child, Preschool A child between the ages of 2 and 5. Children, Preschool,Preschool Child,Preschool Children
D004781 Environmental Exposure The exposure to potentially harmful chemical, physical, or biological agents in the environment or to environmental factors that may include ionizing radiation, pathogenic organisms, or toxic chemicals. Exposure, Environmental,Environmental Exposures,Exposures, Environmental
D005260 Female Females
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D015331 Cohort Studies Studies in which subsets of a defined population are identified. These groups may or may not be exposed to factors hypothesized to influence the probability of the occurrence of a particular disease or other outcome. Cohorts are defined populations which, as a whole, are followed in an attempt to determine distinguishing subgroup characteristics. Birth Cohort Studies,Birth Cohort Study,Closed Cohort Studies,Cohort Analysis,Concurrent Studies,Historical Cohort Studies,Incidence Studies,Analysis, Cohort,Cohort Studies, Closed,Cohort Studies, Historical,Studies, Closed Cohort,Studies, Concurrent,Studies, Historical Cohort,Analyses, Cohort,Closed Cohort Study,Cohort Analyses,Cohort Studies, Birth,Cohort Study,Cohort Study, Birth,Cohort Study, Closed,Cohort Study, Historical,Concurrent Study,Historical Cohort Study,Incidence Study,Studies, Birth Cohort,Studies, Cohort,Studies, Incidence,Study, Birth Cohort,Study, Closed Cohort,Study, Cohort,Study, Concurrent,Study, Historical Cohort,Study, Incidence

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