Abstract
Data from the Hispanic Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were used to estimate arithmetic mean blood lead and percent with elevated blood lead [25 micrograms per deciliter (micrograms per dl) or greater] for 4-11-year-old Mexican American, Puerto Rican, and Cuban children. The sample size was 1,390 for Mexican American children, 397 for Puerto Rican children, and 114 for Cuban children. Puerto Rican children had the highest mean blood lead levels (11.5 micrograms per dl), followed by Mexican American children (10.4 micrograms per dl) and Cuban children (8.6 micrograms per dl, P less than .05). Puerto Rican children had the highest percent with elevated blood lead (2.7 percent); 1.6 percent of Mexican American children had elevated blood lead; less than 1 percent (0.9 percent) of the Cuban children had elevated blood lead (P less than .05). Mexican American girls had a lower mean blood lead level than did boys: 9.7 micrograms per dl versus 11.0 micrograms per dl (P less than .05). For both Puerto Rican and Mexican American children, younger age indicated a higher risk of having elevated blood lead levels. Mexican American children who lived in poverty had higher mean blood lead levels than did Mexican American children who did not live in poverty--11.6 micrograms per dl versus 9.6 micrograms per dl (P less than .05). Despite advances in primary prevention of lead toxicity in children during the past 10 years, many Hispanic children are at risk of lead toxicity. Approximately 19,000 Mexican American 4-11-year-old children living in the Southwest and approximately 8,000 Puerto Rican children living in the New York City area had elevated blood lead levels (greater than or equal to 25 micrograms per dl) during 1982-84.
Full text
PDF
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Annest J. L., Pirkle J. L., Makuc D., Neese J. W., Bayse D. D., Kovar M. G. Chronological trend in blood lead levels between 1976 and 1980. N Engl J Med. 1983 Jun 9;308(23):1373–1377. doi: 10.1056/NEJM198306093082301. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Billick I. H., Curran A. S., Shier D. R. Analysis of pediatric blood lead levels in New York City for 1970-1976. Environ Health Perspect. 1979 Aug;31:183–190. doi: 10.1289/ehp.7931183. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Delves H. T. A micro-sampling method for the rapid determination of lead in blood by atomic-absorption spectrophotometry. Analyst. 1970 May;95(130):431–438. doi: 10.1039/an9709500431. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Mahaffey K. R., Annest J. L., Roberts J., Murphy R. S. National estimates of blood lead levels: United States, 1976-1980: association with selected demographic and socioeconomic factors. N Engl J Med. 1982 Sep 2;307(10):573–579. doi: 10.1056/NEJM198209023071001. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Vega Franco L., Meza Camacho C., Alanís J. Nivel de plomo en la sangre y su concentración en la leche ingerida. Salud Publica Mex. 1978 May-Jun;20(3):343–345. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]