Summary
To assess the association between prenatal/early postnatal lead exposure and development, we followed a group of urban US infants from birth to 2 years of age. Estimates of the association between lead and Bayley Mental Development Index (MDI) scores at ages 6, 12, 18, and 24 months were obtained using several regression options. In all multivariate models examined, MDI scores were associated with umbilical cord blood lead levels, but not with postnatal blood lead levels. Infants with high cord blood lead levels (10–25 µg/dl) consistently scored 4 to 8 points lower than infants with low cord blood lead levels (<3 µg/dl). Infants’ vulnerability to lead’s developmental toxicity appears to be greatest during the fetal period.
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© 1989 ECSC-EEC-EAEC, Brussels — Luxembourg; EPA, USA
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Bellinger, D., Leviton, A., Waternaux, C., Needleman, H., Rabinowitz, M. (1989). Low-level Lead Exposure and Early Development in Socioeconomically Advantaged Urban Infants. In: Smith, M.A., Grant, L.D., Sors, A.I. (eds) Lead Exposure and Child Development. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-0847-5_21
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-0847-5_21
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