Prenatal lead exposure, delta-aminolevulinic acid, and schizophrenia.
Schizophrenia is a severe mental disorder of unknown etiology. Recent reports suggest that a number of environmental factors during prenatal development may be associated with schizophrenia. We tested the hypothesis that environmental lead exposure may be associated with schizophrenia using archived serum samples from a cohort of live births enrolled between 1959 and 1966 in Oakland, California. Cases of schizophrenia spectrum disorder were identified and matched to controls. A biologic marker of lead exposure, delta-aminolevulinic acid (delta-ALA), was determined in second-trimester serum samples of 44 cases and 75 controls. delta-ALA was stratified into high and low categories, yielding 66 subjects in the high category, corresponding to a blood lead level (BPb) greater than or equal to 15 micro g/dL, and 53 in the low category, corresponding to BPb less than 15 micro g/dL. Using logistic regression, the odds ratio (OR) for schizophrenia associated with higher delta-ALA was 1.83 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.87-3.87; p = 0.1]. Adjusting for covariates gave an OR of 2.43 (95% CI, 0.99-5.96; p = 0.051). This finding suggests that the effects of prenatal exposure to lead and/or elevated delta-ALA may extend into later life and must be further investigated as risk factors for adult psychiatric diseases.
Opler
Mark G A
MG
Department of Psychiatry, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, 722 West 168th Street, New York, NY 10032, USA. mgo4@columbia.edu
Brown
Alan S
AS
Graziano
Joseph
J
Desai
Manisha
M
Zheng
Wei
W
Schaefer
Catherine
C
Factor-Litvak
Pamela
P
Susser
Ezra S
ES
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000622:Aminolevulinic Acid / Q000097:blood*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007854:Lead / Q000633:toxicity*; D008297:Male; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011247:Pregnancy; D011262:Pregnancy Trimester, Second / Q000097:blood; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; D011446:Prospective Studies; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000139:chemically induced*
D015415:Biomarkers; D007854:Lead; D000622:Aminolevulinic Acid