Learning disabilities in children: significance of low-level lead-exposure and confounding factors

Abstract

The hypothesis that low-level lead absorption is a risk factor for learning disabilities in school children was examined in the municipality of Aarhus, Denmark. During 1982-1983, a total of 1,302 children in the first grade (54% of the eligible population) delivered shed deciduous teeth. The lead concentration in the circumpulpal dentin was used as an indicator of the cumulated lead absorption, and 200 cases (high-lead) and controls (low-lead) were selected, and matched for socioeconomic group and gender. The parents were interviewed regarding the child's development and past medical history. Possible confounders were identified and controlled for in a logistic multivariate model. The influence of lead absorption became statistically significant only after exclusion of the children with proven medical risk factors, thereby the adjusted odds ratio in the weighted analysis was changed from 2.2 to 4.3. Thus, in a Scandinavian low-level lead-polluted area, lead absorption appears to be a risk factor for learning disabilities.