Relationships Between Dietary Patterns and Low-Level Lead Exposure Among Children from Hunan Province of China

Abstract

Lead (Pb) is a potent environmental toxic metal. Few studies have focused on low-level Pb exposure in children. This study evaluated the relationships of dietary patterns with low-level Pb exposure in children from Hunan province of China. A cross-sectional study was conducted in a single primary school, located in Hunan Province. In total, 425 children were recruited. Principal component analysis was used to identify dietary patterns based on dietary intake from a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Blood lead levels (BLLs) were measured. Multivariate regression analysis was used to investigate the associations of BLLs with dietary patterns. Three dietary patterns were identified: balanced, plant, and beverage and snack. The concentration of blood lead (median (IQR)) was 2.00 (2.00, 15.96) μg/L. Only 0.24% children’s BLLs were ≥100 µg/L and 1.18% children’s BLLs were ≥ 50 µg/L. There was a significant difference for BLLs in gender of children (p = 0.007). No significant associations were found between dietary patterns and BLLs by logistic regression analysis based on 50th percentile (P50) of blood lead. The plant pattern had a positive association with blood log-Pb (B = 0.04, 95% CI: 0.00, 0.08, p = 0.035) in group of > P50 by linear regression analysis. Systolic blood pressure (SBP) (B = 7.44, 95% CI: 2.80, 12.09, p = 0.002) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) (B = 5.46, 95% CI: 1.53, 9.40, p = 0.007) were positively associated with blood log-Pb in group of > P50. BLLs were low among children aged 4–7 years in Hunan province of China. There was a significant difference for BLLs in gender of children. Low BLLs had no associations with dietary patterns. However, the plant pattern may become an important source of blood lead with increasing BLLs. Increasing BLLs may contribute to elevated blood pressure of children.