Study finds secondhand smoke may be source of lead exposure in children

Lead publicity has lengthy been a recognized well being danger, particularly for younger kids. Analysis has discovered that even at low ranges, power publicity to guide could cause injury to the mind and different organs and trigger issues with cognitive and motor expertise. In response, public well being officers have decided that there isn’t a protected publicity degree and have made nice efforts to get rid of lead-based paint and lead pipes in properties and part out the usage of leaded gasoline.

However one other attainable supply of lead publicity in kids has been largely neglected, that of secondhand smoke.

A research printed within the journal BMC Public Well being explores the connection between secondhand smoke and lead publicity in kids. Within the research, Alexander Obeng, a doctoral scholar within the Division of Environmental and Occupational Well being on the Texas A&M College College of Public Well being, analyzed information on blood lead ranges and secondhand smoke publicity in kids and adolescents aged 6 to 19. The research was supervised by college members Dr. Genny Carrillo and Dr. Taehyun Roh.

The researchers used information from two cycles of the Nationwide Well being and Diet Examination Survey (NHANES), one for 2015–2016 and one for 2017–2018. NHANES is a large-scale, nationally consultant and well-regarded well being survey.

The researchers analyzed information on 2,815 kids and adolescents, taking a look at ranges of lead and a metabolite of nicotine referred to as cotinine. Ranges of cotinine act as an indicator of publicity to tobacco smoke. The researchers categorized contributors by blood cotinine ranges and age, with teams for ages 6 to 10, 11 to fifteen and 16 to 19, and low, intermediate and heavy cotinine degree classes. In addition they collected information on age, gender, race and ethnicity, family schooling degree and weight problems.

The evaluation discovered that blood lead ranges correlated with cotinine ranges. Lead ranges have been 18% greater in contributors within the intermediate cotinine group and 29% greater within the heavy group in comparison with these with low blood cotinine. In addition they discovered that male and non-Hispanic Black contributors had greater blood lead ranges than the median, whereas Hispanic contributors had the bottom common blood lead ranges.

These findings appear to align with analysis displaying that non-Hispanic Black adults usually tend to smoke than Hispanic adults.

The researchers additionally discovered that the 6-to-10 age cohort had the best share of contributors whose blood lead ranges have been over the median, with a reducing development in older teams. This may very well be due to behavioral variations in youthful kids, similar to putting fingers and different objects within the mouth extra usually, or in how youthful kids have a tendency to soak up extra lead than adolescents and adults. The researchers additionally discovered that overweight kids and adolescents had notably decrease lead ranges than non-obese contributors.

The findings of this research present proof that secondhand smoke could also be a supply of lead publicity in kids and adolescents.

“Additional analysis will possible paint a clearer image of this publicity route, particularly in youthful kids, however the findings right here can inform present efforts to get rid of low-level lead publicity in kids,” Carrillo mentioned. “For instance, schooling of oldsters about secondhand smoke as a supply of lead publicity might assist lower lead publicity in kids and additional construct on the successes of previous lead elimination initiatives.”