Blood lead levels in the adult population living in France the French Nutrition and Health Survey (ENNS 2006-2007).
BACKGROUND
The French Nutrition and Health Survey (ENNS) was conducted in order to describe food consumption and levels of various biomarkers in the general population. In this paper, we aimed to assess the distribution of blood lead levels (BLL) in the adult population living in France.


METHODS
ENNS was a cross-sectional survey carried out in the general population. Participants (18-74years of age) were sampled using a three-stage probability design stratified by geographical areas and degrees of urbanization. Collected data included biochemical samples, anthropometric measurements, socio-demographic characteristics, and environmental and occupational exposure.


RESULTS
In 2006/2007, 2029 adults were included in the survey on lead. The blood lead geometric mean (GM) in the population living in France was 25.7μg/L [24.9-26.5]. The overall prevalence of elevated BLL (>100μg/L) was 1.7% [1.1-2.3%]. Levels were significantly higher in males than in females, and increased with age, smoking status and alcohol consumption. Other factors significantly associated with BLL were leisure activities, occupational category, age of housing unit, birth place and shellfish/crustacean consumption.


CONCLUSIONS
For the first time a survey provides national estimates of BLL for the adult population in France. Comparison with results from a previous study among men aged 18-28years showed that the GM dropped more than 60% in the last 10years. The distribution of BLL in France was quite similar to that observed in other European countries.
Institut de Veille Sanitaire, Département Santé Environnement, Saint Maurice, France. g.falq@invs.sante.fr
Grégoire
G
Falq
Abdelkrim
A
Zeghnoun
Mathilde
M
Pascal
Michel
M
Vernay
Yann
Y
Le Strat
Robert
R
Garnier
Didier
D
Olichon
Philippe
P
Bretin
Katia
K
Castetbon
Nadine
N
Fréry
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003710:Demography; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000032:analysis* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D005602:France; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007854:Lead / Q000097:blood*; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D055815:Young Adult
D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D007854:Lead