title: Behavioral and Environmental Explanations of Elevated Blood Lead Levels in Immigrant Children and Children of Immigrants.
abstract: Immigrant/refugee children sometimes have substantially higher blood lead levels (BLLs) than US-born children in similar environments. We try to understand why, by exploring the relationship between immigration status of mother and the BLLs of US-born children. We compared BLLs of children born in Michigan to immigrant and non-immigrant parents, using the Michigan database of BLL tests for 2002-2005, which includes the child's race, Medicaid eligibility and address. We added census data on socio-demographic/housing characteristics of the child's block group, and information about parents. Low parental education, single parent households, mothers' smoking and drinking, all increase the child's BLL. However, immigrant parents had fewer characteristics associated with high BLL than US born parents, and their children had lower BLLs than children of US-born mothers. Our findings suggest that prior findings of higher BLLs among immigrant/refugee children probably result from them starting life in high-lead environments.
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology, Michigan State University, Rm 418B Berkey Hall, 509 E Circle Drive, East Lansing, MI, 48824-1111, USA. Kaplowi1@msu.edu.
authors.forename: Stan A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Kaplowitz
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology, Michigan State University, Rm 418B Berkey Hall, 509 E Circle Drive, East Lansing, MI, 48824-1111, USA.
authors.forename: Harry
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Perlstadt
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
authors.forename: James D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Dziura
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
authors.forename: Lori A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Post
mesh_terms: D002675:Child, Preschool; D004326:Drinking / Q000208:ethnology; D054242:Emigrants and Immigrants / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior / Q000208:ethnology*; D006798:Housing; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007854:Lead / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D008484:Medicaid / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008824:Michigan; D009035:Mothers / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D044469:Racial Groups / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012036:Refugees / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012907:Smoking / Q000208:ethnology; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014481:United States
chemical_list: D007854:Lead
keywords: Blood lead level; Family structure; Health behaviors; Immigrants; Lead poisoning