Blood lead levels and risk factors for lead toxicity in children from schools and an urban slum in Delhi.
This cross-sectional study was conducted to estimate the mean blood lead levels (BLL) and prevalence of lead toxicity in a representative sample of schoolchildren and children residing in an urban slum. In addition, the association of potential environmental risk factors with elevated BLL was studied. Children aged 4-6 years were selected from schools of the South zone of Delhi (n = 125) and from an urban slum (n = 65). Risk factors were recorded using a pre-tested questionnaire and blood lead and zinc protoporphyrin (ZPP) levels were estimated. The mean BLL was 7.8 microg/dl (SD 3.9) and the proportion of children with blood lead > or = 10 microg/dl was 18.4 per cent. Distance of the residence or school from a main road appeared to be associated with higher blood lead concentrations, but these differences were not statistically significant. In our setting, vehicular pollution may be a major contributing factor in lead contamination of the environment.
Department of Pediatrics, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India. vkalra@medinst.ernet.in
Veena
V
Kalra
K T
KT
Chitralekha
Tarun
T
Dua
R M
RM
Pandey
Yogesh
Y
Gupta
D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000009:adverse effects; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D007854:Lead / Q000097:blood*; D007855:Lead Poisoning / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011204:Poverty Areas; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D014504:Urban Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D007854:Lead