Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2007 Jan;4(1):A05.
Epub 2006 Dec 15.

Case management protocol and declining blood lead concentrations among children

Nedra S Whitehead  1 , Richard Leiker
Affiliations

Case management protocol and declining blood lead concentrations among children

Nedra S Whitehead et al. Prev Chronic Dis. 2007 Jan.

Abstract

Introduction: Blood lead concentrations among children aged 6 years and younger become a concern at 10 microg/dL (0.48 micromol/L) or higher. The authors' objective was to determine whether initial blood lead concentrations of 10-19 microg/dL (0.48-0.96 micromol/L) declined among children aged 3 years and younger and whether the magnitude of decline was associated with the case management protocol of the state or local childhood lead poisoning prevention program.

Methods: The authors analyzed childhood blood lead surveillance data from 1994 through 1995 and case management protocols from six states that reported the results of all blood lead tests. The study included 2109 children aged 2 years or younger who had a venous blood lead concentration of 10-19 microg/dL (0.48-0.96 micromol/L) and a follow-up venous blood lead test within 3 to 12 months.

Results: Overall, blood lead concentrations increased by 0.25 microg/dL (0.01 micromol/L) between the time of the initial elevated blood lead test and the follow-up test, but concentrations declined by 1.96 microg/dL (0.09 micromol/L) among children covered by a case management protocol that included a home visit and by 0.92 microg/dL (0.04 micromol/L) among those covered by a protocol that included a lead source investigation. The decline remained significant after we adjusted for the child's age.

Conclusion: These findings suggest that childhood lead prevention programs should consider focusing their efforts on home visits and lead source investigations.

PubMed Disclaimer

Comment in

References

    1. Bellinger D, Sloman J, Leviton A, Rabinowitz M, Needleman HL, Waternaux C. Low-level lead exposure and children's cognitive function in the preschool years. Pediatrics. 1991;87(2):219–227. [Published erratum in: Pediatrics 1994;93(2):A28] - PubMed
    1. Ruff HA, Markowitz ME, Bijur PE, Rosen JF. Relationships among blood lead levels, iron deficiency, and cognitive development in two-year-old children. Environ Health Perspect. 1996;104(2):180–185. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Hernandez-Avila M, Peterson KE, Gonzalez-Cossio T, Sanin LH, Aro A, Schnaas L, et al. Effect of maternal bone lead on length and head circumference of newborns and 1-month-old infants. Arch Environ Health. 2002;57(5):482–488. - PubMed
    1. Rothenberg SJ, Kondrashov V, Manalo M, Jiang J, Cuellar R, Garcia M, et al. Increases in hypertension and blood pressure during pregnancy with increased bone lead levels. Am J Epidemiol. 2002;156(12):1079–1087. - PubMed
    1. Glenn BS, Stewart WF, Links JM, Todd AC, Schwartz BS. The longitudinal association of lead with blood pressure. Epidemiology. 2003;14(1):30–36. - PubMed

Publication types