 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Kristina M Zierold, PhD, MS, Wisconsin Division of Public Health, One West Wilson, Room 150, Madison, WI 53701-2659, 608-261-6866, kaz5@cdc.gov and Henry Anderson, MD, Bureau of Occupational Health, Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services, Division of Public Health, 1 West Wilson Street, Room B157, P.O. Box 2659, Madison, WI 53701-2659.
Childhood lead poisoning results in central nervous system, hematologic, and kidney damage. The most important factor in controlling lead poisoning is reducing the child�s exposure to lead. CDC recommends that within 10 days of detection of a blood lead level (BLL)>=20ug/dL, public health officials begin environmental intervention. To investigate factors associated with BLL decline, data from Wisconsin�s lab-based BLL reporting system were analyzed for all non-transient children<6 years whose maximum BLL was 20-40ug/dL and for whom housing intervention data were available (n=172). Using each child�s successive BLL tests, linear regression was used to determine the BLL half-life for each child. Regression results with correlations, r<0.70 were removed(n=21). To further investigate factors associated with differences in half-lives, proportional hazards regression modeling was conducted in SAS. The mean half-life was found to be 709 days. The median time from first BLL>=20 ug/dL to completed housing remediation was 196 days. Children whose abatement times took longer than 6 months were at a 1.63 times higher risk for having longer half-lives than children whose housing abatement was completed in less than 6 months. Additional predictors of longer half-lives included age>1 year (HR=2.01, 95%CI:1.27,3.19), black race (HR=1.87, 95%CI:1.29,2.74), first BLL test <30ug/dL (HR=2.10, 95%CI:1.87,3.73) and children living in cities (HR 2.64, 95%CI:1.87,3.73). Without timely remediation, continued lead exposure slows the rate of BLL decline. Impediments to rapid dwelling remediation must be overcome.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Lead, Children's Health
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.