title: Distribution of blood lead levels in a birth cohort of New Zealanders at age 21.
abstract: Little is known about lead exposure in the general population of young adults. In this study, whole blood lead concentration (PbB) was determined in a sample of the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study, a well-documented birth cohort of New Zealanders aged 21 years in 1993-1994. PbB in those who consented to venipuncture at 21 years of age (n = 779; 411 males, 368 females) was compared to PbB for the same cohort at age 11 years. The PbB at age 21 ranged from 0.4 to 56 micrograms/dl with a geometric mean of 4.5 micrograms/dl (95% CI, 4.3-4.7 micrograms/dl). Only three individuals had a PbB above 30 micrograms/dl. Males had significantly higher PbB than females (geometric mean 6.0 vs. 3.2 micrograms/dl; p < 0.0001). The PbB at age 21 was 53% lower than in the same individuals at age 11 (geometric mean 4.8 vs. 10.2 micrograms/dl; p < 0.001; n = 480) and the correlation between corresponding values was weak (r = 0.19; p < 0.001). PbB at age 21 showed significant associations with high risk occupational activities, recreational exposure, domicile close to a main road, smoking, and male sex. Blood lead concentrations continue to fall in New Zealand, but occupational and recreational activities remain a significant source of lead exposure.
authors.affiliation: School of Pharmacy, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Fawcett
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Heydon
authors.forename: T A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Walmsley
authors.forename: D B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Menkes
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015331:Cohort Studies; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007854:Lead / Q000097:blood*; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D009520:New Zealand / Q000453:epidemiology; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors; D017678:Sex Distribution
chemical_list: D007854:Lead