title: Effectiveness of cleaning and health education in reducing childhood lead poisoning among children residing near superfund sites in Missouri.
abstract: In this study, the authors evaluated whether a combination of tailored education, lead dust removal by trained cleaning specialists, and family follow-up visits would be more effective than conventional health educational programs in reducing elevated blood lead levels in children living in or near lead mining hazardous waste sites. The authors randomized children between 6 and 72 mo of age with blood lead levels between 10 and 20 microg/dl into 3 groups: standard care, tailored newsletters, or tailored newsletters and specialized cleaning. The authors obtained questionnaires, blood lead levels, and environmental lead samples during initiation and compared them with the same items obtained at 3, 6, and 9 mo follow-up. They used a linear mixed effect model to evaluate the intervention effect. Blood lead levels decreased overall 1.54 microg/dl (12.1%) during the study. The authors found that tailored newsletters and specialized cleaning produced the greatest decline in blood lead levels, but no statistical differences were found among the methodologies. The small decline observed in blood lead levels reduced levels to below 10 microg/dl for 40% of the children.
authors.affiliation: Division of Environmental and Occupational Health, Saint Louis University School of Public Health, St. Louis, Missouri 63104, USA. sterling@slu.edu
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Sterling
authors.forename: R Gregory
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Evans
authors.forename: Brooke N
authors.initials: BN
authors.lastname: Shadel
authors.forename: Fernando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Serrano
authors.forename: Brenda
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Arndt
authors.forename: John J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Lori
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Harris
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004391:Dust; D004780:Environment, Controlled; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000032:analysis; D005260:Female; D006256:Hazardous Waste / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000032:analysis; D006266:Health Education; D006796:Household Work; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007854:Lead / Q000097:blood*; D007855:Lead Poisoning / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008906:Mining; D008923:Missouri / Q000453:epidemiology; D010150:Paint / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D004391:Dust; D006256:Hazardous Waste; D007854:Lead