Call for lead testing in high-risk children
Wednesday, January 2, 2002
Children with be-havioural and de-velopmental dis- orders should be routinely tested for lead, which is a known, but treatable, neurotoxin, say the authors of new research.
Children with be-havioural and de-velopmental dis- orders should be routinely tested for lead, which is a known, but treatable, neurotoxin, say the authors of new research.
Lead is not now considered to be a public health problem in the UK. However, in the US the substance is still considered a potential threat to children's development and extensive lead screening programmes have been carried out since the early 1960s.
The Centre for Disease Control in Atlanta, for example, recommends that children first receive blood lead screening when they are one year old and that there should be additional screening of children at high risk - those living in old housing with leaded paint or with old lead water pipes, especially those with a propensity for chewing objects and sucking their fingers.
The authors of the research - the lead researcher is Dr Gill Lewendon of the South and West Devon Health Authority - which is published in the medical journal Archives of Disease in Childhood, took blood samples from 69 children referred to the local child development centre for behavioural and/or developmental problems over a period of six months. Blood samples were also taken from 136 children admitted for routine surgery at the local district general hospital.
It was found that the children with behavioural problems had significantly higher levels of lead in their blood than the other children - and 12 per cent of them had levels above those defined as 'toxic'. This applied to just over half a per cent of the other children. The findings could not be accounted for by differences in age, sex or social class.
The study confirms previous findings that children with these problems have higher blood lead levels. It is not known whether lead is the cause of the problems or whether the children's behaviour leads them in some way to ingest lead.
However, it is important to prevent children from further handicapping themselves by more lead ingestion and the report's authors advise hand washing before meals, wet wiping of hard surfaces, frequent washing of soft toys and avoiding sanding off old paint in the home.
The research paper can be read at http://press.psprings.co.uk/adc/october/adc-01112.pdf .
For information on how to safely remove old lead paint in the nursery and home, see 'Lead alert!', Nursery World 26 July 2001.
