Table 5.
Quality assessment criteria for the evaluation of design and data analysis in epidemiologic studies of lead exposure and kidney function biomarkers.
| All Studies | Prospective | Case control, cross-sectional, ecological | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Study | Exposure assessed at individual level |
Exposure assessed using biomarker |
Standardized biomarkers used |
Internal comparisons presented |
Response rate ≥70% from source population |
Same exclusion criteria applied to all participants |
Control for relevant confounders |
Data collected in similar manner between exposed and unexposed |
Loss to follow-up independent of exposure |
Interviewer blinded with respect to case or exposure status |
Noncases would have been cases had they developed disease (CC only) |
Cases and controls/exposed interviewed over same time period |
| Fadrowski et al., 2013 | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | NR | Yes | Yes | Yes | - | - | - | Yes |
| Factor-Litvak et al., 1999 | Yes | Yes | No (dipstick) | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | NR | - | - | Yes |
| Moel et al., 1985 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | NR | NR | No | NR | - | NR | - | NR |
| Scharer et al., 1991 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | NR | NR | No | No | - | NR | Yes | NR |
| Chan et al., 2012 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | NR | NR | No | NR | - | - | - | NR |
| Filler et al., 2012 | Yes | Yes | NR | Yes | NR | NR | No | Yes | NR | - | NR | |
| Bernard et al., 1995 | Yes | Yes | - | Yes | NR | - | Yes | NR | - | NR | No | NR |
| Fadrowski et al., 2010 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | NR | Yes | Yes | Yes | - | - | Yes | |
| Chaumont et al., 2012 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | NR | Yes | NR | - | - | - | NR |
| Staessen et al., 2001 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | NR | NR | Yes | NR | - | - | - | Yes |
| Khan et al., 2010 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | NR | Yes | No | NR | - | - | - | NR |
| Laamech et al., 2014 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | NR | NR | No | Yes/NR | - | - | - | NR |
| Verberk et al., 1996 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | NR | NR | Yes | Yes | - | NR | - | NR |
| Fels et al., 1998 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | - | NR | No | NR | - | NR | - | NR |
| Loghman-Adham, 1998 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | NR | NR | No | NR | - | - | - | NR |
| Cabral et al., 2012 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | NR | NR | No | NR | - | - | - | NR |
CC: case-control study, NR: not reported in the text
Standardized kidney biomarkers: use of albumin/creatinine ratio, GFR, eGFR, or biomarkers of kidney damage such as β2MG, NAG, AAP, A2M, or RBP
RBP: retinol binding protein, eGFR: estimated glomerular filtration rate, GFR: glomerular filtration rate, β2MG: β-2-microglobulin, A2M: α-2-microglobulin, NAG: N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidase,