Abstract
This paper reported available studies on blood lead level of childbearing age in Sub-Saharan African women. PubMed and Google scholar databases were searched for original articles reporting blood lead levels of women of childbearing age in Sub-Saharan Africa. Searches were not limited to year of study but limited to studies published in English Language. Data were extracted and synthesized by estimating the weighted mean of the reported blood lead levels. Fifteen papers fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Mean blood lead levels of women in the studies ranged from 0.83 to 99 μg/dl. The overall weighted mean of blood lead levels was 24.73 μg/dl. The weighted mean from analyses of data on blood lead levels of pregnant women alone was 26.24 μg/dl. Identified sources of lead exposure included lead mine, informal lead-acid battery recycling, leaded gasoline and piped water. Elevated BLLs were associated with incidence of preeclampsia, hypertension, and malaria. Important contributing factors for elevated blood lead levels (BLL) in these women include poverty, high environmental lead burden, low awareness on lead exposure hazards and lack of regulation for lead in consumer products. BLLs of women of childbearing age in SSA are unacceptably high. There is need therefore, for aggressive programs to address lead exposure in this population.
Highlights
Lead is a bluish-gray metal that occurs naturally in the earth’s crust, most often in its ore deposits with coal and other metals such as zinc, silver and copper
In the light of this, this paper presents the summary of findings of previous literature on lead exposure in women of childbearing age living in Sub-Saharan African through a systematic review
A study on blood lead levels (BLL), health effects and risk factors for elevated BLL among pregnant women in Abakaliki, Southeast Nigeria was reported in two papers by Ugwuja et al [45, 46], and so these two papers were merged as one
Summary
Lead is a bluish-gray metal that occurs naturally in the earth’s crust, most often in its ore deposits with coal and other metals such as zinc, silver and copper. It is soft, malleable, a relatively poor conductor of electricity, highly resistant to corrosion, and able to absorb sounds and other vibrations as well as radiation. Lead has a low melting point and is resistant to fire [1] This range of properties makes it versatile, as it is used in hundreds of consumer products, which has resulted in widespread human exposure to this toxic metal. These include; lead miners, lead smelters, and refiners, car battery manufacturers and repairers, paint and pigment manufacturers, printers, stained-glass makers, welders etc. [1]
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