BACKGROUND: In 1996 there was a massive lead poisoning in a southern rural community in Chile. The contamination source was a mill whose grinding stone was repaired with lead and contaminated the flour. AIM: To assess the presence of sequelae ten years later, among subjects that were exposed to lead on that occasion. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Cross sectional study of 77 individuals (47 males), aged 10 to 25 years, that were exposed to lead in 1996 and were treated with EDTA. RESULTS: Twenty one percent of subjects had a subnormal intelligence quotient (IQ). The risk of having a low IQ was significantly higher among those exposed before the age of six years. IQ was significantly lower among subjects that, immediately after the exposure, had a lead level over 48 microg/dl, compared with those that had a lead level below 43 microg/dl (86.7+/-7.3 and 93+/-11.6 respectively). No subjects with high blood pressure or evidences of nephrotoxicity were detected. CONCLUSIONS: Subjects aged less than six years at the moment of lead exposure had a lower IQ when assessed ten years later.
BACKGROUND: In 1996 there was a massive lead poisoning in a southern rural community in Chile. The contamination source was a mill whose grinding stone was repaired with lead and contaminated the flour. AIM: To assess the presence of sequelae ten years later, among subjects that were exposed to lead on that occasion. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Cross sectional study of 77 individuals (47 males), aged 10 to 25 years, that were exposed to lead in 1996 and were treated with EDTA. RESULTS: Twenty one percent of subjects had a subnormal intelligence quotient (IQ). The risk of having a low IQ was significantly higher among those exposed before the age of six years. IQ was significantly lower among subjects that, immediately after the exposure, had a lead level over 48 microg/dl, compared with those that had a lead level below 43 microg/dl (86.7+/-7.3 and 93+/-11.6 respectively). No subjects with high blood pressure or evidences of nephrotoxicity were detected. CONCLUSIONS: Subjects aged less than six years at the moment of lead exposure had a lower IQ when assessed ten years later.
Authors: Amalia Laborde; Fernando Tomasina; Fabrizio Bianchi; Marie-Noel Bruné; Irena Buka; Pietro Comba; Lilian Corra; Liliana Cori; Christin Maria Duffert; Raul Harari; Ivano Iavarone; Melissa A McDiarmid; Kimberly A Gray; Peter D Sly; Agnes Soares; William A Suk; Philip J Landrigan Journal: Environ Health Perspect Date: 2014-12-05 Impact factor: 9.031