title: Bone lead levels and delinquent behavior.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the association between body lead burden and social adjustment.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective cohort study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Public school community.
  
  
  METHODS
  From a population of 850 boys in the first grade at public schools, 503 were selected on the basis of a risk scale for antisocial behavior. All of the 850 boys who scored in the upper 30th percentile of the distribution on a self-reported antisocial behavior scale were matched with an equal number drawn by lot from the lower 70% of the distribution. From this sample, 301 students accepted the invitation to participate. EXPOSURE MEASURE: K x-ray fluorescence spectroscopy of tibia at subjects' age of 12 years.
  
  
  METHODS
  Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), teachers' and parents' reports, and subjects' self-report of antisocial behavior and delinquency at 7 and 11 years of age.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Subjects, teachers, and parents were blind to the bone lead measurements. At 7 years of age, borderline associations between teachers' aggression, delinquency, and externalizing scores and lead levels were observed after adjustment for covariates. At 11 years of age, parents reported a significant lead-related association with the following CBCL cluster scores: somatic complaints and delinquent, aggressive, internalizing, and externalizing behavior. Teachers reported significant associations of lead with somatic complaints, anxious/depressed behavior, social problems, attention problems, and delinquent, aggressive, internalizing, and externalizing behavior. High-lead subjects reported higher scores in subjects' self-reports of delinquency at 11 years. High-lead subjects were more likely to obtain worse scores on all items of the CBCL during the 4-year period of observation. High bone lead levels were associated with an increased risk of exceeding the clinical score (T > 70) for attention, aggression, and delinquency.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Lead exposure is associated with increased risk for antisocial and delinquent behavior, and the effect follows a developmental course.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh (Pa) School of Medicine, USA.
authors.forename: H L
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Needleman
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Riess
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Tobin
authors.forename: G E
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Biesecker
authors.forename: J B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Greenhouse
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001842:Bone and Bones / Q000737:chemistry*; D002648:Child; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D007854:Lead / Q000032:analysis*; D007855:Lead Poisoning / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012647:Self-Assessment; D012920:Social Behavior Disorders / Q000209:etiology; D013052:Spectrometry, X-Ray Emission; D014888:Wechsler Scales
chemical_list: D007854:Lead