title: Blood Lead Concentrations of Children in the United States: A Comparison of States Using Two Very Large Databases.
abstract: To determine whether there are substantial differences by state between 2 large datasets in the proportion of children with elevated blood lead levels (BLLs); to identify states in which the percentage of elevated BLLs is high in either or both datasets; and to compare the percentage of elevated BLLs in individual states with those of children living in Flint, Michigan, during the months when these children were exposed to lead-contaminated drinking water.
  
  
  
  Tables of BLLs for individual states from the Quest Diagnostics and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention datasets for 2014-2015, containing more than 3 million BLLs of young children?<?6 years old, were constructed to compare the Quest Diagnostics and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data with one another and with BLLs available for Flint children for 2014-2015.
  
  
  
  For some states, the percentages of BLLs ?5.0?µg/dL are similar in the 2 datasets, whereas for other states, the datasets differ substantially in the percentage of BLLs ?5.0?µg/dL. The percentage of BLLs ?5.0?µg/dL is greater in some states in both datasets than observed in Flint when children were exposed to contaminated water.
  
  
  
  The data presented in this study can be a resource for pediatricians and public health professionals involved in the design of state programs to reduce lead exposure (primary prevention) and identify children with elevated BLLs (secondary prevention).
authors.affiliation: Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, NJ.
authors.forename: Keneil K
authors.initials: KK
authors.lastname: Shah
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, NJ.
authors.forename: James M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Oleske
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Hurley Medical Center, Flint, MI; Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.
authors.forename: Hernan F
authors.initials: HF
authors.lastname: Gomez
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics, Rutgers School of Public Health, Newark, NJ.
authors.forename: Amy L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Davidow
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Biochemistry, and Molecular Genetics, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, NJ. Electronic address: john.bogden@rutgers.edu.
authors.forename: John D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Bogden
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D016208:Databases, Factual; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D006801:Humans; D007854:Lead / Q000097:blood*; D007855:Lead Poisoning / Q000517:prevention & control; D011322:Primary Prevention; D055502:Secondary Prevention; D014481:United States; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry; D014881:Water Supply
chemical_list: D014867:Water; D007854:Lead
keywords: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Flint; Michigan; Quest Diagnostics; blood lead levels; children; lead