PMID: 9187045Jan 1, 1997Paper

Impairment of psychological functions in children environmentally exposed to lead

International Journal of Occupational Medicine and Environmental Health
B Dudek, D Merecz

Abstract

The major objective of the study was to determine whether environmental exposure to lead exerts a negative impact upon psychological functions in children. The examined group consisted fo school age children (6-15 years old, x = 9.5, SD = 1.4) living close to copper works. Out of 4548 children with measured blood lead concentrations, two groups were selected one with the highest exposure levels (12.0-27.2 micrograms/dl) and the other drawn from the remaining children, with low blood lead levels. The mean exposure level for the whole examined group equalled 10.18 mu/dl PbB (SD-4.73 micrograms/dl). To assess effects of the exposure, the following variables were measured in the examined children: intelligence, hand-eye coordination, perception, memory, reaction time and accuracy, and behaviour disorders. The moderator variables of sociodemographic character, i.e. parents' education, income, etc., were also controlled. A significant impact of lead upon psychological functions and behaviour was revealed for two variables only: intelligence and attention concentration. An increase in the exposure level by 10 micrograms/dl PbB was associated with deterioration of general IQ by 5.3 points and growth of the number of mistakes in the Sim...Continue Reading

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