Estimated IQ points and lifetime earnings lost to early childhood blood lead levels in the United States

• Published in: The Science of the total environment Vol. 778; p. 146307
• Main Authors: Boyle, Joseph, Yeter, Deniz, Aschner, Michael, Wheeler, David C.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 15.07.2021
• Subjects: Adolescent; African Americans; African-American ethnicity; blood; Child; Child, Preschool; childhood; Cross-Sectional Studies; environment; Epidemiology; Female; Humans; Income; Infant; Intelligence quotient (IQ); Lead; Lead (Pb); Male; males; National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey; Nutrition Surveys; Pediatrics; Racial disparity; simulation models; United States; Whites; United States; African-American ethnicity; Pediatrics; Intelligence quotient (IQ); Lead (Pb); Epidemiology; Racial disparity

There is no safe detectable level of lead (Pb) in the blood of children. Blood lead levels (BLLs) at ages 6–24 months ≥2 μg/dL result in lost grade school intelligence quotient (IQ) points at ages 5–10 years. Black children continue to have the highest BLLs in the United States. Therefore, we examin...