Join the 'Lead Poisoning -- Mild' group to help and get support from people like you. How it works
Lead Poisoning -- Mild Blog
| Tweet |
On-the-Job Lead Exposures Falling, But Still a Problem: CDC
Posted 30 Jun 2011 by Drugs.com
THURSDAY, June 30 – The number of U.S. workers aged 16 and older with elevated blood lead levels has dropped by more than half over the past two decades – from 14 per 100,000 in 1994 to 6.3 per 100,000 in 2009, a new study reveals. "Although the prevalence of high blood lead levels has decreased, the health effects from lead exposure are well characterized," researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention noted in an agency news release. They point out that, even though ways to cut on-the-job lead exposures exist, "high blood lead levels persist as almost exclusively an occupational health problem" in the United States today. The analysis of 2008-2009 data from 40 states also showed that elevated blood lead levels were most common among workers in manufacturing (about 72 percent in 2008 and 72.3 percent in 2009), construction (13.2 percent in 2008 and 14.4 percent ... Read more
Related support groups: Lead Poisoning -- Mild, Lead Poisoning, Lead Poisoning -- Severe
Lead Exposure May Raise Blood Pressure in Pregnancy
Posted 10 Feb 2011 by Drugs.com
TUESDAY, Feb. 8 – In pregnant women, even small amounts of lead in the blood may cause significantly higher blood pressure, new research suggests. The study of 285 pregnant women found that about one in four had a lead level higher than about 1 microgram per deciliter (1 mcg/dL) of umbilical cord blood. That's significantly lower than the safety thresholds set by the U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which recommends taking action to reduce lead exposure when pregnant women or children have a blood lead level of 5 mcg/dL. Even so, women in the study with lead levels greater than 1 mcg/dL had higher systolic and diastolic blood pressure readings than those with lower lead levels. The average increase was 6.9 mm Hg and 4.4 mm Hg, respectively. Though further research is needed, the findings suggest that pregnant women may be as sensitive to lead toxicity as young children, ... Read more
Related support groups: Toxemia of pregnancy, Lead Poisoning -- Mild, Lead Poisoning, Lead Poisoning -- Severe
Poison Experts Turn Phone Line Into a Lifeline
Posted 19 Sep 2010 by Drugs.com
FRIDAY, Sept. 17 – Trained as a registered nurse to work in emergency rooms and intensive care units, Hugh Rawls did just that until sidelined a decade ago by a back injury. Today, he's still working in emergency care, but from a different angle. For the past 10 years, he has helped man the phone lines at the Poison Control Center in Jacksonville, Fla. "In a lot of ways, there's some similarities in the critical thinking I used as a bedside nurse," said Rawls, 45. "Part of my job is not only to think about what's going on right now, but also to think three steps ahead to what could happen. I have to think ahead as to what could happen to this person and where we need to go treatment-wise." People call the center with a wide variety of problems, Rawls said. "This is very similar to working in an emergency room," he said. "You don't know what's going to come up next. One minute it's a ... Read more
Related support groups: Benzodiazepine Overdose, Ethylene Glycol Poisoning, Arsenic Poisoning, Anticholinesterase Poisoning, Cyanide Poisoning, Lead Poisoning -- Mild, Arsenic Poisoning -- Severe, Iron Poisoning, Organophosphate Poisoning, Acute Alcohol Intoxication, Gold Poisoning -- Mild, Iron Poisoning -- Acute, Gold Poisoning, Mercury Poisoning, Lead Poisoning
Lead Exposure May Delay Puberty in Girls
Posted 5 Sep 2010 by Drugs.com
FRIDAY, Sept. 3 – Exposure to lead in early childhood may delay puberty in girls, a new study from the U.S. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development has found. Researchers from the institute analyzed the findings of blood samples taken from more than 700 girls aged 6 to 11. They found that those with elevated levels of lead (5 or more micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood) were 75 percent less likely than those with low levels of lead to have adolescence-related hormones at levels associated with the start of puberty. This difference in hormone levels was even greater in girls with elevated levels of both lead and cadmium, which can damage the kidneys, lungs and bones and increase the risk of cancer. Children are usually exposed to lead through old, deteriorating lead-based paint and lead-contaminated dust and soil, while breathing in cigarette smoke is a leading ... Read more
Related support groups: Lead Poisoning -- Mild, Lead Poisoning, Lead Poisoning -- Severe
Even Small Amounts of Lead Harmful to Kids
Posted 2 Feb 2010 by Drugs.com
THURSDAY, Sept. 17 – Children with blood lead levels well below those considered safe are still at risk for problems with intellectual and emotional development, British researchers report. Currently, the maximum safe blood level of lead is 10 micrograms per deciliter (10 mcg/dl), which was set by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 1991. However, even this level appears to be too high, experts say. "This study confirms what we have been seeing in recent studies, that the current CDC level of concern here in the United States of 10 [mcg/dl] is not adequately protective," said Kim Dietrich, a professor of environmental health at the University of Cincinnati. This study clearly shows that blood level concentrations between 5 mcg/dl and 10 mcg/dl are associated with poorer educational performance and antisocial behavior, Dietrich said. Dietrich noted that, in his own ... Read more
Related support groups: Lead Poisoning -- Mild, Lead Poisoning
Lead Exposure May Contribute to ADHD
Posted 2 Feb 2010 by Drugs.com
TUESDAY, Feb. 2 – Lead may play a role in the development of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), new research suggests. Genes are believed to account for as much as 70 percent of ADHD in children. Researchers trying to determine the cause of the other 30 percent of cases consider lead a prime suspect among possible environmental causes, according to the American Association of Psychological Science. Lead, a neurotoxin, is present in trace amounts in such things as soil, drinking water, children's costume jewelry and imported candies. Nearly all children in the United States have measurable levels of lead in their bodies, the association reports. In one of two recent studies examining the possible link between lead and ADHD, the researchers found that children with ADHD had slightly higher levels of lead in their blood than did children without ADHD. The second study showed ... Read more
Related support groups: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Lead Poisoning -- Mild, Lead Poisoning, Lead Poisoning -- Severe
Long-Term Lead Exposure Linked to Heart Deaths
Posted 18 Jan 2010 by Drugs.com
TUESDAY, Sept. 8 – Exposure to lead over a lifetime may increase the risk of dying from heart disease, new research shows. Researchers analyzed lead concentrations in the blood and bones of 868 mostly white men from the Boston area who participated in a veterans' aging study. The men, whose average age was 67 at the start of the study, had lead concentrations in their blood and the bones of the patella (kneecap) and tibia (shin) measured over a nine-year period. During the course of the study, 241 died. Researchers found that men who had the highest concentrations of lead in their bones had a six times greater chance of dying from cardiovascular disease than men with the lowest concentrations. Men with the highest levels of lead had a 2.5 times greater chance of dying from all causes than men with the lowest levels. "Cumulative exposure to lead, even in an era when current exposures ... Read more
Related support groups: Heart Disease, Lead Poisoning -- Mild, Lead Poisoning, Lead Poisoning -- Severe
Lead Levels in Many Lipsticks Higher Than Reported
Posted 18 Jan 2010 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 2 – A new analysis finds lead levels in many lipsticks are higher than those reported in 2007 by the consumer advocacy group Campaign for Safe Cosmetics. This new analysis, conducted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and published in a recent issue of the Journal of Cosmetic Science, used new techniques to determine the lead levels. Despite the findings, the agency reiterated its stance on the issue. "Lipstick is a product intended for topical use, and is only ingested incidentally and in very small quantities," said FDA spokeswoman Stephanie Kwisnek. "FDA does not consider the lead levels that it found in lipsticks to be a safety concern. FDA also notes that the lead levels that it found are lower than limits recommended by other public health authorities for lead in cosmetics, including lipstick." The Personal Care Products Council, which represents the ... Read more
Related support groups: Lead Poisoning -- Mild
Very Low Levels of Lead Harm Kids' Kidneys: Study
Posted 11 Jan 2010 by Drugs.com
MONDAY, Jan. 11 – Even very low levels of lead may harm children's kidneys, say U.S. researchers. The lead level of concern for children is 10 micrograms per deciliter of blood, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. However, a new Johns Hopkins Children's Center study suggests that even levels below 10 micrograms are a health threat. "To our knowledge, this is the first study to show that very low levels of lead may impact kidney function in healthy children, which underscores the need to minimize sources of lead exposure," lead investigator and pediatric nephrologist Dr. Jeffrey Fadrowski said in a Hopkins news release. "Our findings were particularly striking because we saw slightly decreased kidney function in healthy children without conditions that could account for it, and this could spell more kidney trouble down the road as these children get older ... Read more
Related support groups: Lead Poisoning -- Mild, Lead Poisoning, Lead Poisoning -- Severe
Lead Exposure May Affect Mental Health
Posted 8 Dec 2009 by Drugs.com
TUESDAY, Dec. 8 – Young adults with elevated levels of lead in their blood might be at increased risk for major depression and panic disorders, a new study suggests. Researchers analyzed information on 1,987 adults, aged 20 to 39, who took part in the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 1997 and 2004. Of those participants, 134 (6.7 percent) had major depression, 44 (2.2 percent) had panic disorder and 47 (2.4 percent) had generalized anxiety disorder. The average level of lead in the blood among all participants was 1.61 micrograms per deciliter. The 20 percent of participants with the highest lead levels (2.11 micrograms per deciliter or more) were more than twice as likely to have major depression and nearly five times more likely to have panic disorder than the 20 percent of participants with the lowest blood lead levels (0.7 micrograms per deciliter). The ... Read more
Related support groups: Lead Poisoning -- Mild, Lead Poisoning, Lead Poisoning -- Severe
Childhood Lead Exposure Causes Permanent Damage: Study
Posted 1 Dec 2009 by Drugs.com
TUESDAY, Dec. 1 – Childhood exposure to lead can cause permanent brain damage, a new study has found. "What we have found is that no region of the brain is spared from lead exposure. Distinct areas of the brain are affected differently," study author Kim Cecil, an imaging scientist at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and a professor of radiology, pediatrics and neuroscience at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, said in a news release. The study included 33 adults, mean age 21, who were enrolled as infants in the long-term Cincinnati Lead Study, which looked at prenatal and early childhood exposure in 376 infants from high-risk areas of Cincinnati between 1979 and 1987. The study participants had blood lead levels ranging from 5 micrograms to 37 micrograms per deciliter, with a mean of 14. They had IQ deficiencies and histories of juvenile delinquency and ... Read more
Related support groups: Lead Poisoning -- Mild, Lead Poisoning, Lead Poisoning -- Severe