Prevention Of Lead Exposure Research Articles

Lead seasonality: Affect children's blood lead levels and implication for lead exposure prevention.

Lead seasonality attributed to the patterns of Pb variation in the natural environment should be considered in the Pb risk analysis and related to the seasonality evident in humans. In this study, we integrate the Xi'an soil and dust lead seasonality data (554 surface soil samples and 554 road dust samples in three seasons) to evaluate the seasonal lead burden on children and propose the implications for children's lead exposure prevention strategies considering the lead seasonality and the influences from urban land use and children's living environment. The results showed that most seasonal variation patterns of soil and dust Pb are observed in winter (cold season), which coincided with the observation of higher children's blood lead levels in winter, although the strong correlation coefficients between children's blood lead levels (BLLs) and soil/dust Pb are observed in summer. The combinations of meteorological factors and anthropogenic pollutant emission strongly determine the metal seasonal variations. Those arrays of evidence suggest that lead seasonality is multifactorial within the environment and humans. Land uses and living environments such as old residential areas, heavy traffic, and fewer green parks, etc. have a significant impact on the increase of children's BLLs. Lead exposure prevention is proposed by BLLs warning and effective measure of reduction ≤ 50 μm soil/dust size fraction in winter.

Advancing Public Health Interventions: A Novel Surveillance System for Hazardous Consumer Products.

Lead poisoning remains a significant public health concern with preventable exposure from different sources, including certain traditional consumer products. To address the concern of product-related lead exposures, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene has developed the Non-Paint Sample Database (NPSD). NPSD systematically tracks information about hazardous consumer products collected during New York City case investigations and store surveys. NPSD has enabled identification of new products-related lead sources and populations at risk of lead exposure and has guided risk communication, regulatory activities, and policy initiatives. Since 2007, approximately 8000 consumer products have been tracked by NPSD. NPSD demonstrates the potential for consumer product surveillance to enable source identification, monitor lead exposure trends, and facilitate effective educational and enforcement activities, which advances lead exposure prevention strategies.

Assessment of Lead Exposure and Associated Risk Through Human Biomonitoring Among Urban Communities in Chennai, Southern India.

Lead exposure is a widely acknowledged risk to public healthfor children and adults. However, despiteefforts to phase out major sources over the last several decades, estimates of the prevalence of blood lead exposures and associated risks remainpoorly characterized in many low- and middle-income countries. This study aimed to determine blood lead levels (BLLs) and assess potential sources of lead exposure among urban communities in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. We obtained blood samples from a cross-sectional sample of 300 healthy individuals aged between 18 and 60. BLLswere measured using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) following microwave digestion. A questionnaire was administered to gather information on potential sources of lead exposure. Multivariate regression models were then developed to identify major determinantsof BLLs. The mean BLLwas 5.3 µg/dL with BLLs in 49% of the participants exceeding 5 µg/dL.Multiple linear regression analysis identified six predictor variables (low socio-economic status, age, male gender, proximity to industrial areas, using leaded paint and metallic cookware) that explainednearly 76% of the variance in the BLLs (F-value 82.39; p-value: < 0.001). The results highlight the need for continued targeted interventions to reduce lead exposure, particularly among vulnerable populations in Chennai. Establishing greater capacities for regular biomonitoring and education on lead exposure prevention are recommended.

Perspectives on Childhood Lead Exposure Prevention: Looking Back and Looking Ahead.

Lead's neurotoxic properties and potential harmful effects to humans, particularly young children, have been recognized for decades, influencing public health policies to reduce its admixture in house paint and passenger car gasoline. We signal 3 emergent trends: firearm proliferation, complex international food supply chains, and equally complex product marketing strategies, which have opened opportunities for lead exposure to children from guns and ammunition, and lead contamination in children's food and consumer goods. Readers will also be apprised of Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program and education strategies cultivated and advanced by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and its lead prevention partners. A national governmental policy update is included, as are future considerations.

Development and evaluation of two educational sessions on take-home lead exposure prevention for construction workers and their families.

Take-home exposures occur when workers accidentally bring workplace contaminants home. Regular job responsibilities may expose construction workers to lead, which extends to their households via the take-home pathway. The present study aimed to develop and evaluate 2 educational sessions addressing take-home lead exposure tailored to construction workers and their families. Educational materials on take-home lead exposure and prevention strategies were designed following guidance from US government institutions and experts on construction work, lead exposure, and educational interventions. The educational materials were pilot-tested with construction workers and their family members during in-person or online sessions in English or Spanish. Changes in knowledge of take-home lead exposure were assessed through pre- and post-testing and open-ended feedback was collected from both participants and session facilitators. The study sample comprised 44 participants, including 33 workers and 11 family members. Among all participants, 81% were male, 46% were Hispanic or Latino, and the average age was 29 years. Post-test scores (µ = 93%, SD = 10%) were higher than pre-test scores (µ = 82%, SD = 19%), and younger participants (<30 years) were more likely to have a lower pre-test score compared to older participants (≥30 years). Overall, feedback from participants and facilitators was positive, indicating appropriate duration, appealing visuals, and ease of engagement through the training activities. Effective public health education for lead-exposed construction workers and their families is needed to reduce lead exposure disparities, especially among children of workers. Interventions must recognize that take-home exposures are not isolated to occupational or home environments.

Lead exposure in Chinese children: Urbanization lowers children's blood lead levels (BLLs)

Lead is a toxic metal that can pose a huge threat to children's health. China has experienced rapid urbanization since the reform in 1978; however, there has been no examination of the potential influence of this urbanization on children's blood lead levels (BLLs). This study is the initial investigation to explore the correlation between urbanization and BLLs in Chinese children. Five windows of time are considered: pre-2000, 2001-2005, 2006-2010, 2011-2015 and 2016-2021. The results show that urbanization affected lead distribution in urban soil and agricultural soil during the above periods, especially in northern China. The higher non-carcinogenic risk of lead for children is consistent with the lead pollution in soil (3<Igeo≤4). Urban children's BLLs are slightly higher than those of rural children in 2001-2010, but rural children's BLLs in 2011-2021 are higher than those of urban children during China's urbanization. The areas of rural decline and the areas of urban growth increased across all the window periods. However, the BLLs decrease in all rural and urban areas during all window periods, especially in urban areas. Children's BLLs have a significantly negative correlation with urban areas (p<0.01). Therefore, China's urbanization has a significant effect on the decrease in children's BLLs. The significance of this study is to provide a fresh perspective and innovative strategy for policymaking in order to reduce children's BLLs and prevent lead exposure. This can be achieved by transforming their external living environment from a rural lifestyle to an urban one, while also ensuring access to well education and maintaining a balanced nutrient intake.

The Contribution of Declines in Blood Lead Levels to Reductions in Blood Pressure Levels: Longitudinal Evidence in the Strong Heart Family Study.

Chronic lead exposure is associated with both subclinical and clinical cardiovascular disease. We evaluated whether declines in blood lead were associated with changes in systolic and diastolic blood pressure in adult American Indian participants from the SHFS (Strong Heart Family Study). Lead in whole blood was measured in 285 SHFS participants in 1997 to 1999 and 2006 to 2009. Blood pressure and measures of cardiac geometry and function were obtained in 2001 to 2003 and 2006 to 2009. We used generalized estimating equations to evaluate the association of declines in blood lead with changes in blood pressure; cardiac function and geometry measures were considered secondary. Mean blood lead was 2.04 μg/dL at baseline. After ≈10 years, mean decline in blood lead was 0.67 μg/dL. In fully adjusted models, the mean difference in systolic blood pressure comparing the highest to lowest tertile of decline (>0.91 versus <0.27 μg/dL) in blood lead was -7.08 mm Hg (95% CI, -13.16 to -1.00). A significant nonlinear association between declines in blood lead and declines in systolic blood pressure was detected, with significant linear associations where blood lead decline was 0.1 μg/dL or higher. Declines in blood lead were nonsignificantly associated with declines in diastolic blood pressure and significantly associated with declines in interventricular septum thickness. Declines in blood lead levels in American Indian adults, even when small (0.1-1.0 μg/dL), were associated with reductions in systolic blood pressure. These findings suggest the need to further study the cardiovascular impacts of reducing lead exposures and the importance of lead exposure prevention.

Lead exposure sources and public health investigations for children with elevated blood lead in England, 2014 to 2022.

Lead exposure at any concentration can adversely impact health, with children being more vulnerable to its effects. In England, children with an elevated blood lead concentration (BLC) are reported to Health Protection Teams (HPTs) for public health investigation. A detailed review of these cases has not yet been conducted. The objectives of this study were to describe the demographics, likely setting and sources of lead exposure, risk behaviours, public health investigations and outcomes for children aged <16 years with a BLC requiring public health action reported to HPTs between 2014-2022 in England. Data were collected via a lookback questionnaire and a live enhanced surveillance questionnaire. Data were deduplicated, cleaned and results summarised as numbers and percentages using R studio. A thematic analysis was conducted on qualitative responses to a question relating to problems experienced during case investigation. There were 340 cases in our study: the majority were aged 1-4 years old (53%) and male (69%). Ethnicity data was poorly recorded. A higher than expected proportion (31%) lived in the most deprived areas. Pica (76%) and learning difficulties (60%) were often present. Cases were primarily exposed to lead in the domestic setting (92%) with paint (43%) and soil (29%) the most common exposures. Most cases lived in rented accommodation (63%), with a higher proportion in social rentals (48%) than privately rented (37%). Case investigations were resource intensive and poor stakeholder engagement/response was most frequently identified as challenging by HPTs. Lead exposure is harmful to children and requires public health and clinical management, which can be complex and challenging. Prevention of lead exposure in children should be the focus of intervention efforts. Outreach, engagement and preventative work should focus on both renters and homeowners. Collecting ethnicity data consistently may enable identification of more specific groups at increased risk of lead exposure in England.

Knowledge, confidence, and reported behaviors that promote safe water drinking among women of reproductive age.

Drinking lead contaminated water during pregnancy is associated with infant mortality. All women of reproductive age are advised by health agencies to adhere to healthy behaviors due to the chance of unintended pregnancy. Our objectives are to understand knowledge, confidence, and reported behaviors that promote safe water drinking and prevent lead exposure among women of reproductive age. A survey among females of reproductive age from the University of Michigan - Flint was administered. A total of 83 females who wished to become pregnant one day participated. Low levels of knowledge, confidence, and reported preventative health behaviors related to safe water drinking and lead exposure prevention existed. Specifically, 71.1% of respondents (59 of 83) were not at all or were somewhat confident in their ability to choose an appropriate lead water filter. Most participants rated their knowledge on how to decrease exposure to lead during pregnancy as poor/fair. No statistically significant differences were detected between respondents residing inside and outside of the city of Flint, Michigan for most variables assessed. While the small sample size is a limitation, the study adds to an area of scarce research. Despite widespread media attention and resources directed toward reducing the negative health effects of lead exposure following the Flint Water Crisis, significant gaps in knowledge related to safe water drinking remain. Interventions are needed to increase knowledge, confidence, and healthy behaviors that promote safe water drinking among women of reproductive age.

Implementing a group-based multi-component early child development intervention through the government health system in rural Bangladesh: A feasibility study.

Children in low- and middle-income countries face an increased risk of impaired cognitive development due to contaminated environments, poor nutrition, and inadequate responsive stimulation from caregivers. Implementing multi-component, community-level interventions may reduce these risks; however, there is little evidence supporting implementation of these interventions at scale. We assessed the feasibility of implementing a group-based intervention that included responsive stimulation, maternal and child nutrition, water and sanitation, and childhood lead exposure prevention through the government health system in Chatmohar, Bangladesh. After implementation, we conducted 17 in-depth interviews with frontline health service providers and 12 key informant interviews with their supervisors and managers to explore the facilitators and difficulties implementing such a complex programme within the health system. Factors facilitating implementation included: high quality training and skill level of providers, support from community members, family, and supervisors, positive relationships between providers and participants, and provision of children's toys and books free of cost. Difficulties included increased workload of the providers, complicated group-based yet stage-specific delivery where providers had to manage a large group of mother-child dyads representing many different child age-groups at once, and logistics difficulties in providing toys and books through a centralised health system process. Key informants made suggestions to ensure effective government-level scale-up including engaging relevant NGOs as partners, identifying feasible ways to make toys available, and offering providers meaningful even if non-monetary rewards. These findings can be used to shape the design and delivery of multi-component child development interventions to be delivered through the health system.

Neighborhood disparities and the burden of lead poisoning.

To assess the persistence of neighborhood-level lead poisoning disparities in Rhode Island. Rhode Island Department of Health blood lead levels (BLL) collected from 2006-2019 were linked to census block group rates of poverty and housing built pre-1950. We computed multivariate logistic regression models of elevated BLLs (≥5 µg/dL and ≥10 µg/dL). Of the 197,384 study children, 12.9% had BLLs ≥5 µg/dL and 2.3% had BLLs ≥10 µg/dL. The proportion of children with BLL ≥ 5 µg/dL increased across quintiles of poverty and old housing. The odds ratio for highest quintiles was 1.44 (95% CI: 1.29, 1.60) and 1.92 (95% CI: 1.70, 2.17) for poverty and pre-1950 housing, respectively. A significant temporal decline was observed for BLL ≥ 5 µg/dL (2006: 20.5%, 2019: 3.6%). Disparities narrowed over the study period across quintiles of poverty and old housing with a similar trend appearing in the proportion of children with BLL ≥ 10 µg/dL. Despite tremendous progress in reducing lead exposure, substantial neighborhood disparities in lead poisoning persist. These findings provide valuable considerations for primary childhood lead exposure prevention. Through linkage of Rhode Island Department of Health childhood lead poisoning and census data, this study captures neighborhood-level disparities in lead poisoning from 2006-2019. This study demonstrates that the odds of lead poisoning increased in a stepwise fashion for neighborhood quintiles of poverty and housing built pre-1950. While the magnitude of lead poisoning disparities narrowed across quintiles of poverty and old housing, disparities persist. Children's exposure to sources of lead contamination continues to be an important public health concern. The burden of lead poisoning is not equally distributed among all children or communities.

Predicting Low-Level Childhood Lead Exposure in Metro Atlanta Using Ensemble Machine Learning of High-Resolution Raster Cells.

Low-level lead exposure in children is a major public health issue. Higher-resolution spatial targeting would significantly improve county and state-wide policies and programs for lead exposure prevention that generally intervene across large geographic areas. We use stack-ensemble machine learning, including an elastic net generalized linear model, gradient-boosted machine, and deep neural network, to predict the number of children with venous blood lead levels (BLLs) ≥2 to <5 µg/dL and ≥5 µg/dL in ~1 km2 raster cells in the metro Atlanta region using a sample of 92,792 children ≤5 years old screened between 2010 and 2018. Permutation-based predictor importance and partial dependence plots were used for interpretation. Maps of predicted vs. observed values were generated to compare model performance. According to the EPA Toxic Release Inventory for air-based toxic release facility density, the percentage of the population below the poverty threshold, crime, and road network density was positively associated with the number of children with low-level lead exposure, whereas the percentage of the white population was inversely associated. While predictions generally matched observed values, cells with high counts of lead exposure were underestimated. High-resolution geographic prediction of lead-exposed children using ensemble machine learning is a promising approach to enhance lead prevention efforts.

Assessment and Prevention of Lead Poisoning in Refugee Populations.

Lead is a neurotoxin, and there are no safe blood lead levels identified for children. Even low levels of lead in blood have been shown to permanently harm the brain, affecting a child's development, intelligence, and academic achievement. In the U.S., refugee children are at an increased risk for lead poisoning. Preventing lead exposure can reduce damage to children's health. It is imperative that clinicians conduct an exposure assessment and offer anticipatory guidance to prevent exposure to lead, especially with sources such as cosmetics, ceramics, herbs, and toys.

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Policy Interventions in Reducing Lead Exposure among Vulnerable Populations

Introduction: Lead exposure continues to be a major public health issue, especially for vulnerable populations, including children and low-income communities. This has led to policy interventions, but the impact on reducing lead exposure is under scrutiny. The objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of policy measures in reducing lead exposure among susceptible populations. Methods: We undertook a systematic review of the literature to identify studies that assessed the effectiveness of policy interventions to reduce lead exposure. The search included peer-reviewed articles from 2000 to 2020, and studies were included if they (1) measured changes in lead exposure levels or (2) were a policy intervention targeted at a vulnerable population. Quality assessments of the studies were conducted using predefined criteria with data being synthesized through narrative.Results: Out of the twenty studies that met the inclusion criteria, most focused on lead paint abatement, lead service line replacement, or lead-safe renovation practices. These results point toward a substantial decrease in lead exposure following the introduction of policy interventions that can range as high as a 73% reduction in blood lead levels in children across multiple studies. Moreover, lead-exposure prevention policies implementing education and awareness programs showed favorable impacts by increasing knowledge among parents and encouraging the practice of safer behaviors to lower lead exposure.Conclusions: These findings highlight the potential for policy interventions to significantly reduce lead exposure in susceptible populations. These results also stress the importance of regular assessment and refinement of these policies to guarantee continuing success that reduces lead exposure throughout the years. Further research should evaluate their cost-effectiveness and barriers to implementation and effectiveness.

Serum Lead Level and Academic Performance of Elementary School Children in Makassar City

Lead exposure to children results in a negative effect on behaviour and cognitive performance. Air lead concentration might be influenced by traffic density on the road. Schools are the locations affected by traffic-related pollution. This study aims to explore the correlation between Serum Lead Levels (SLL) and academic achievement of elementary school students, comparing the distance of the school from the road. This cross-sectional study included 54 5th and 6th-grade students from two schools that differed in the distance from the main road. We observed the students' SLL with laboratory analysis and academic performance from the final score of five subjects. The mean difference of SLL and academic achievement between the two schools were performed using the Mann-Whitney U test, and the correlation between lead concentration and academic performance using the Spearman-Rho test. This study observed that all students were exposed to lead with the SLL range of 0.39-5.97 µg/dL in the school which is located road side, and 0.42-6.44 µg/dL in the school far from main road. The insignificant difference in the students' SLL (p=0.43) between the two schools but significant in students-level of academic performance (p=0.03) were discovered. Serum lead level correlated negatively with academic performance. (r=-0.234, p=0.044). It is suggested to give more attention to preventing lead exposure in children through the implementation of some prevention programmes and policies.

Potential sources of lead in children’s environments, Thimphu, Bhutan

Introduction: There is no level of lead in one’s blood that is known to be safe. Infants and children are exposed to lead through various sources in the environment. Lead-based paint, toys, play equipment, dust, and soil may all be potential sources of lead. Preventing lead exposure is essential to eliminate the permanent and life-long disability caused from lead poisoning. Previous work showed that 44% of children aged 2 - 60 months in a Bhutanese population have dangerously high (greater or equal to 5mg/dL) levels of lead. The sources of this lead toxicity, however, are unknown. This study was carried out to identify potential sources of lead in infants’ and children’s environments at health facilities, early childhood care and development and creche centers, public playgrounds, and schools in Thimphu Dzongkhag. Methods: An environmental survey using a portable X-ray Fluorescence (pXRF) was conducted from May 2021 to April 2022 to identify potential sources of lead in the environment in and around Thimphu, Bhutan. Results: A total of 777 tests were done to identify excessive amounts of lead from various items, including: toys, playground equipment, furniture, paints, and soil. A total of 16 tests had excessive amounts of lead, of which 15 were detected from playground equipment at public playgrounds. The most common color with excessive lead was yellow. Conclusions: Excessive amounts of lead were found in playground equipment as a possible source of lead exposure in children.

Prevalence of elevated blood lead levels and risk factors among children living in Patna, Bihar, India 2020.

Childhood lead exposure remains a key health concern for officials worldwide, contributing some 600,000 new cases of intellectually disabled children annually. Most children affected by high exposure to lead live in low- and middle-income countries. The leaded gasoline phase out in India was completed in 2000. Yet, in 2020, an estimated 275 million children aged 0 to 9 years had blood lead levels (BLLs) ≥ 5 μg/dL known to adversely affect intelligence and behavior. Lead sources reported in India include spices, cookware, paint, traditional medicines and cosmetics, and lead-acid battery recycling and repair. However, their relative contribution has not been characterized. More than 200 lead pollution sites related to battery recycling and repair activities were identified in Bihar and Jharkhand, India. Ninety percent of the recycling sites had soil lead concentrations exceeding the US Environmental Protection Agency's standards. We compared blood and environmental lead levels in two groups of children in Patna, Bihar. Households in proximity to battery recycling operations (Proximal n = 67) versus households distal to these operations (Distal n = 68). The average age of children was 40 months; 46% were female. Overall, the geometric mean (GM) BLL was 11.6 μg/dL. GM BLLs of children in Proximal and Distal households were not significantly different (10.2 μg/dL vs. 13.1 μg/dL respectively; p≤0.07). About 87% children, 56 Proximal and 62 Distal had BLLs ≥5 μg/dl. Lead concentrations in environmental samples were significantly higher in Proximal households (soil mean 9.8 vs. 1.6 μg/ft2; dust mean 52.9 vs. 29.9 μg/ft2 p<0.001; Proximal vs. Distal respectively) whereas concentrations in all spices were higher in Distal households (mean 46.8 vs 134.5 ppm p<0.001; Proximal vs. Distal respectively), and turmeric (mean 59.4 vs. 216.9 ppm Proximal vs. Distal respectively). In multivariate analyses for all children lead in spices and turmeric and number of rooms in the house were significant while for the Proximal group only lead in spices remained in the model. The predictive value of these models was poor. For the Distal group, a model with lead concentration in spices, turmeric and soil and number of rooms in the house was a much better fit. Of the 34 water samples collected, 7 were above the Indian standard of 10 ppb for lead in drinking water (2 in the Proximal area, 5 in the Distal area). Children in Patna, Bihar, India are exposed to multiple sources of lead, with lead levels in house dust and loose, locally sourced spices the most likely to increase blood lead levels. A holistic approach to blood lead testing and source identification and remediation are necessary to prevent lead exposure.

Do Neighborhood Factors Modify the Effects of Lead Exposure on Child Behavior?

Lead exposure and neighborhoods can affect children’s behavior, but it is unclear if neighborhood characteristics modify the effects of lead on behavior. Understanding these modifications has important intervention implications. Blood lead levels (BLLs) in children (~7 years) from Montevideo, Uruguay, were categorized at 2 µg/dL. Teachers completed two behavior rating scales (n = 455). At one-year follow-up (n = 380), caregivers reported child tantrums and parenting conflicts. Multilevel generalized linear models tested associations between BLLs and behavior, with neighborhood disadvantage, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), and distance to nearest greenspace as effect modifiers. No effect modification was noted for neighborhood disadvantage or NDVI. Children living nearest to greenspace with BLLs < 2 µg/dL were lower on behavior problem scales compared to children with BLLs ≥ 2 µg/dL. When furthest from greenspace, children were similar on behavior problems regardless of BLL. The probability of daily tantrums and conflicts was ~20% among children with BLLs < 2 µg/dL compared to ~45% among children with BLLs ≥ 2 µg/dL when closest to greenspace. Furthest from greenspace, BLLs were not associated with tantrums and conflicts. Effect modification of BLL on child behavior by distance to greenspace suggests that interventions should consider both greenspace access and lead exposure prevention.

Early detection of the low dose of Lead exposure prevents mental disorders using non-invasive fluorescence and multi-omics

Lead poisoning is an epidemic that can affect anyone. Lead toxicity most commonly affects children and causes neurodevelopmental problems chronically. Lead is a heavy metal that alters calcium metabolism and deactivates enzymes essential in activating heme in the blood. Heme is an integral part of homeostasis and body defense in the shuttling of oxygen throughout the tissues, most notably the brain metabolism. The lack of oxygen throughout the brain slows down brain development (e.g., Neuronal cell migration, polarization, neuronal cell differentiation) and leads to lower IQs, learning disabilities, and lifelong ailments. The most common form of lead exposure comes from lead-based paint, toys, cosmetic materials, other household materials, various environments, and occupational pollutants. The current biomarkers used for lead toxicity successfully detect current lead levels in the blood but are not excellent at determining duration. Bone-Pb allows for the detection of lead toxicity duration, but it is not widely accepted throughout the United States. Significant limitations exist because all biomarkers test for lead poisoning after it has already happened which makes it challenging to prevent lead exposure in a clinical setting. Prevention needs to happen at the governmental and, more importantly at the individual levels. The focus of this study is on lead toxicity and prevention followed by reducing risk and improvement of detection utilized tools-driven molecular-based assessment along with visual imaging technique. It examines how lead finds its way into the human body for storage or metabolomic by-products. Identifying the risks of exposure would inform the mechanisms that can be employed to prevent further exposure and toxicity in other organs or intervene with metabolism or biotransformation. It predicts the potential counteract mechanisms through which lead affects the health of pregnant mothers, or interaction between prenatal, or the unborn, and post-natal status, different stages of developmental, and post-menopausal women. The study outlines the various ways of detecting the presence of low levels of lead in the blood and bones using non-invasive fluorescence combined with multidimensional omics such as metabolomic and proteomic by which early detection of organ dysfunction can be used to monitor Ca2+ metabolism in the cell or tissue/organ level before the onset of disease

Global Trends in Mortality and Burden of Stroke Attributable to Lead Exposure From 1990 to 2019.

BackgroundLead exposure is an important risk factor for stroke. However, the latest global spatiotemporal patterns of lead exposure-related stroke burden were unclear. In this study, we assessed this topic.MethodsThe data were obtained from the Global Burden of Disease Study (2019). The estimated annual percentage change (EAPC) was estimated to evaluate the temporal trends of the age-standardized mortality and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) rates (ASMR and ASDR) of stroke attributable to lead exposure.ResultsIn 2019, the numbers of global stroke deaths and DALYs attributable to lead exposure were 305.27 and 6738.78 thousand, respectively. The corresponding ASMR and ASDR were highest in males, the elderly population, low and middle-income countries, and the intracerebral hemorrhage subtype. From 1990 to 2019, the ASMR and ASDR of global stroke attributable to lead exposure decreased [ASMR: EAPC = −1.34, 95% confidence interval (CI): (−1.57, −1.10); ASDR: EAPC = −1.74, 95% CI: (−1.95, −1.52)], especially in females, the high-income countries, and the subarachnoid hemorrhage subtype.ConclusionThis study emphasizes the importance of continued implementation of lead exposure prevention strategies and improved high-efficiency treatment and stroke acute health care, especially in low and middle-income countries.