Lead exposure and the cognitive development of urban preschool children: the Cincinnati Lead Study cohort at age 4 years.
The purpose of this analysis was to determine if significant associations could be observed between prenatal/postnatal blood lead (PbB) levels and the cognitive development of 258 urban, inner-city children at 4 years of age. These children have been followed since birth with frequent assessments of general health, PbB, and neuropsychological status. The Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC) was administered at approximately 4 years of age. Higher neonatal PbB levels were associated with poorer performance on all K-ABC subscales. However, this inverse association was limited to children from the poorest families. Maternal PbB levels were unrelated to 4-year cognitive status. Few statistically significant associations between postnatal PbB levels and K-ABC scales could be found. However, the results did suggest a weak inverse relationship between postnatal PbB levels and performance on a K-ABC subscale which assesses visual-spatial and visual-motor integration skills. In these results we note both contradiction and accord with previously published prospective studies.
Dietrich
K N
KN
University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Department of Environmental Health, OH 45267-0056.
Succop
P A
PA
Berger
O G
OG
Hammond
P B
PB
Bornschein
R L
RL
D002675:Child, Preschool; D003071:Cognition / Q000187:drug effects*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D002658:Developmental Disabilities / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007855:Lead Poisoning / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D008431:Maternal-Fetal Exchange; D009820:Ohio / Q000453:epidemiology; D011247:Pregnancy