Study of lead absorption and its effect on children's development

Abstract

Blood lead levels of 180 pupils from two elementary schools were determined and the intellectual development of the children was followed. The children in these two groups were similar in most nonlead variables. Results showed that pupils at the school near a battery plant had higher blood lead levels than those at a school in a residential neighborhood. An evident dose-effect relationship between blood lead level and children's performance on psychological testing existed: the higher the blood level, the lower the intelligence quotient. This relationship remained after confounding factors were controlled by stepwise regression analysis. Partial regression coefficients for PbB and verbal IQ, performance IQ, and full-scale IQ were -0.85, -0.71, and -0.91, respectively.