Blood Lead Concentrations and Antibody Levels to Measles, Mumps, and Rubella among U.S. Children.

Todd A Jusko,Elizabeth A Greener,Kelly Thevenet-Morrison,Marina Oktapodas Feiler,Robert O Wright,Kyra Singh,B Paige Lawrence,Sally W Thurston

doi:10.3390/ijerph16173035

Abstract

Child blood lead concentrations have been associated with measures of immune dysregulation in nationally representative study samples. However, response to vaccination—often considered the gold standard in immunotoxicity testing—has not been examined in relation to typical background lead concentrations common among U.S. children. The present study estimated the association between blood lead concentrations and antigen-specific antibody levels to measles, mumps, and rubella in a nationally representative sample of 7005 U.S. children aged 6–17 years. Data from the 1999–2004 cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) were used. In the adjusted models, children with blood lead concentrations between 1 and 5 µg/dL had an 11% lower anti-measles (95% CI: −16, −5) and a 6% lower anti-mumps antibody level (95% CI: −11, −2) compared to children with blood lead concentrations <1 µg/dL. The odds of a seronegative anti-measles antibody level was approximately two-fold greater for children with blood lead concentrations between 1 and 5 µg/dL compared to children with blood lead concentrations <1 µg/dL (OR = 2.0, 95% CI: 1.4, 3.1). The adverse associations observed in the present study provide further evidence of potential immunosuppression at blood lead concentrations <5 µg/dL, the present Centers for Disease Control and Prevention action level.

Highlights

Experimental studies in animal models have demonstrated that lead exposure causes a dysregulation of the immune system that affects both Th1 and Th2 cell-mediated responses [1].This dysregulation is hypothesized to have downstream effects on immune function, including attenuated antibody responses to antigen, greater infectious morbidity, and increased hypersensitivity.Recent studies conducted using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) support these experimental findings
Less than 1% of blood lead measurements were below the limit of detection (LOD)
The associations observed in the present study suggest potential immunosuppression even at blood lead levels that are less than 5 μg/dL, which is the current Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reference level for blood lead [17]

Summary

Introduction

Experimental studies in animal models have demonstrated that lead exposure causes a dysregulation of the immune system that affects both Th1 and Th2 cell-mediated responses [1].This dysregulation is hypothesized to have downstream effects on immune function, including attenuated antibody responses to antigen, greater infectious morbidity, and increased hypersensitivity.Recent studies conducted using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) support these experimental findings. Experimental studies in animal models have demonstrated that lead exposure causes a dysregulation of the immune system that affects both Th1 and Th2 cell-mediated responses [1]. This dysregulation is hypothesized to have downstream effects on immune function, including attenuated antibody responses to antigen, greater infectious morbidity, and increased hypersensitivity. Positive associations between higher blood lead concentrations and nasal colonization with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Seropositivity for Helicobacter pylori, Toxoplasma gondii, and Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infections have been observed [2,3], and associations between blood lead concentrations and Helicobacter pylori. Public Health 2019, 16, 3035; doi:10.3390/ijerph16173035 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph

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