Prevalence of Blood Lead Levels (BLLs) in children visiting tertiary care hospitals of Peshawar from February to April 2015: A pilot study.
To determine blood lead level in young children visiting tertiary care hospitals.



This cross-sectional study was conducted from February to April 2015 at Khyber Teaching Hospital, Kuwait Teaching Hospital and Siffat Ghayoor Memorial Children's Hospital, Peshawar, Pakistan, and comprised children aged1-10 years. Purposive sampling technique (non-probability) was used. SPSS 17 was used for data analysis. Charts were made in Microsoft Excel 2007.



Of the 100 children in the study, 79(79%) had lead present in their blood, while 21(21%) had no traces whatsoever. Of those who had lead in their blood, 5(6%) showed blood lead level of above 1 mg/dL. The overall mean blood lead level was 0.344± 0.05 mg/dL. There was significance association between lead level and the residential areas of participants (p<0.05).



Lead was found in the blood of children aged 1-10 years and was significantly related to the place of residence. Age and gender had no relation with blood lead levels.
3rd Year M.B.B.S Students, Riphah International University, Islamabad, Pakistan.
Suleman Khan
SK
Afridi
Department of Community Health Sciences, Peshawar Medical College, Riphah International University, Islamabad, Pakistan.
Farhat Rehana
FR
Malik
3rd Year M.B.B.S Students, Riphah International University, Islamabad, Pakistan.
Muhammad Hammad
MH
Khan
3rd Year M.B.B.S Students, Riphah International University, Islamabad, Pakistan.
Syed Hasnain
SH
Ahmad
D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007730:Kuwait; D007854:Lead / Q000097:blood*; D010154:Pakistan; D010865:Pilot Projects; D015995:Prevalence; D062606:Tertiary Care Centers
D007854:Lead
Lead poisoning, Children, Intellectual disability, Tertiary healthcare, Pakistan. 