Lead Blood Levels among Children Living in Rural Area of Mongolia

Lead pollution and its health effects on people are considered an important public health concern worldwide, affecting developing countries the most. The present study aimed to determine the blood lead levels among children in rural areas of Mongolia. Methods. A cross sectional study was conducted and blood samples were obtained from 598 children (aged 1-10 years) in the Dornod, Govi-Altai, Bayanhongor and Orhon provinces (covering the East, West and Central areas of Mongolia) to investigate the lead blood levels of children in these areas; the Lead Care II tool was utilized to conduct the measurements. Results. Lead blood levels were above normal levels ( 5mg/dl) in 93.8% of the children. Blood levels varied by region with levels being the highest in the Govi-Altai province (11.85mg/dl) and lower in the Orhon province (7.885mg/dl); while Dornod (10.7585mg/dl), Bayanhongor (9.7985mg/dl). Differences were also observed by sex with lead blood levels being higher among males (11.1485mg/dl) than among females (9.5685mg/dl), all results were statistically significant (<0.0001).This is the first phase of this study, the second phase will aim to determine the causes for the differences in lead blood level concentrations. Conclusion. Lead blood levels among children living in rural areas are higher than the level considered normal. More studies need to be conducted to provide evidence based data that can be used to informed effective public health preventive efforts.