title: Racial/Ethnic Differences in Childhood Blood Lead Levels Among Children <72 Months of Age in the United States: a Systematic Review of the Literature.
abstract: Childhood lead poisoning is a serious public health problem with long-term adverse effects. Healthy People 2020's environmental health objective aims to reduce childhood blood lead levels; however, efforts may be hindered by potential racial/ethnic differences. Recent recommendations have lowered the blood lead reference level. This review examined racial/ethnic differences in blood lead levels among children under 6 years of age. We completed a search of PubMed, CINAHL, and PsycINFO databases for published works from 2002 to 2012. We identified studies that reported blood lead levels and the race/ethnicity of at least two groups. Ten studies met inclusion criteria for the review. Blood lead levels were most frequently reported for black, white, and Hispanic children. Six studies examined levels between blacks, whites, and Hispanics and two between blacks and whites. Studies reporting mean lead levels among black, whites, and Hispanics found that blacks had the highest mean blood lead level. Additionally, studies reporting blood lead ranges found that black children were more likely to have elevated levels. Studies suggest that black children have higher blood lead levels compared to other racial/ethnic groups. Future studies are warranted to obtain ample sample sizes for several racial/ethnic groups to further examine differences in lead levels.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Sciences & Research, College of Health Professions, Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), 45 Courtenay Drive, SW 974, Charleston, SC, 29425, USA. whitbm@musc.edu.
authors.forename: Brandi M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: White
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Sciences & Research, College of Health Professions, MUSC, 77 President Street, MSC 700, Charleston, SC, 29425, USA.|Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, College of Medicine, MUSC, 77 President Street, MSC 700, Charleston, SC, 29425, USA.
authors.forename: Heather Shaw
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Bonilha
authors.affiliation: Communication Equity and Outcomes Laboratory, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, College of Allied Health Sciences, East Carolina University, 3310H Health Sciences Building, MS 668, Greenville, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Charles
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ellis
mesh_terms: D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007854:Lead / Q000097:blood*; D007855:Lead Poisoning / Q000208:ethnology*; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
chemical_list: D007854:Lead
keywords: Childhood blood lead levels; Environmental public health; Racial and ethnic disparities