Lead Poisoning Case Study

1553 Words7 Pages
Pediatric Lead Toxicity Cohort Study: Environmental Exposure to Lead and Children's Intelligence at the Age of Seven Years UTKU YAZICI İLHAN AKSAKAL BACKGROUND Lead poisoning is a kind of metal toxicity and a medical condition in people and different vertebrates brought on by expanded levels of the heavy metal lead in the body. Lead interferes with an assortment of body procedures and is dangerous to numerous organs and tissues including the heart, bones, intestines, kidneys, reproduction and nervous systems. It is a worldwide pediatric problem since it interferes with the development of the nervous system leading to potentially permanent learning and behavior disorders. In spite of the fact that information keep…show more content…
Lockhart Gibson found out lead paint was responsible for poisoning of millions of children in the United States. Yet the lead paint responsible for all these was not banned from households in United States until 1978. Lead paint existing in many households is still one of the greatest risks for children, especially the older houses which retain chipping paint or lead dust from window frames. Children are more susceptible to adverse effects of lead poisoning compared to adults due to several reasons. One of the main reasons is the underdeveloped internal systems of the children. Hand to mouth activities of the children is as big of an issue since the children are exposed to dust and soil and lead contamination directly affects them through ingestion. Even though lead poisoning because of work or environmental hazards is known for centuries, no safe threshold for lead toxicity has been determined yet. CDC defined blood lead levels above 10 µg/dL as the "level of concern" for children aged 1–5 years, in 1991. This given blood lead level misinterpreted to be the threshold for intake although originally it was intended to direct attention to prevention strategies. Later on in May 2012 CDC changed the term "level of concern" with an upper value which is 5…show more content…
Socioeconomic status and ages of people exposed, location and ages of houses that people live in and several other factors affect incidence rates. Again CDC estimates about 4 million houses occupied in United States have great lead exposure risk for the children. More over CDC estimates over half million children between ages 1 to 5 to have blood lead levels above 5 µg/dL threshold which indicates the need for public health actions. Income indirectly affects exposure risk since children who have low income families tend to live in older house which are still contaminated by leaded paints and other lead sources. Also lead poisoning is more common among minority populations although racial connection is not found. This is an indirect relation between minority populations and their socioeconomic conditions. Lead is still a significant problem worldwide especially in developing countries where compounds of lead are still in use in different areas. Leaded gasoline is a significant source for exposure wherever it is sold. Aside from leaded gasoline and paint ceramics, batteries, painted artifacts still create exposure risks worldwide. Cohort

More about Lead Poisoning Case Study

Open Document