Blood lead levels of primary-school children in Penghu County, Taiwan: distribution and influencing factors.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to investigate the blood lead levels (BLLs) of primary-school children aged 7 to 12 in Penghu island and to determine the factors affecting their BLLs.


METHODS
A total of 1,885 participants were recruited and BLLs were measured with a flameless atomic absorption spectrophotometer. A questionnaire was used to collect personal information.


RESULTS
The results indicated that the mean BLL of primary-school children in Penghu was 6.0+/-2.4 microg/dl (1.0 approximately 29.3 microg/dl). The mean BLL of schoolboys ( n=1,046) was 6.3+/-2.6 microg/dl, with a maximum of 29.3 microg/dl, while the mean BLL of schoolgirls ( n=839) was 5.7+/-2.2 microg/dl, with a maximum of 23.4 microg/dl. Risk-factor analysis showed that personal characteristics (i.e., gender, frequency of milk consumption, grade levels) and geographic factors (i.e., levels of urbanization) significantly influence the BLLs. However, there was no significant impact on BLLs from drinking water, residential distance from a major road, and living close to lead-emitting sources.


CONCLUSIONS
Geographical factors were highly associated with BLLs. The BLLs of the primary-school children living in the main Penghu island were lower than those in the other small islands.
Yang
Tsan
T
School of Public Health, National Defense Medical Center, Nei-Hu, Taipei, Taiwan. yang@ndmctsgh.edu.t
Wu
Trong-Neng
TN
Hsu
Shang-Wei
SW
Lai
Ching-Huang
CH
Ko
Kquei-Nu
KN
Liou
Saou-Hsing
SH
D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D005843:Geography; D006801:Humans; D007854:Lead / Q000097:blood*; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D012307:Risk Factors; D013054:Spectrophotometry, Atomic; D013624:Taiwan
D007854:Lead