Stunting is associated with blood lead concentration among Bangladeshi children aged 2-3 years

Environmental Health

Research

Kelsey M. Gleason¹  David C. Christiani¹  Ema G. Rodrigues²  Maitreyi Mazumdar³  David C. Bellinger³  A. H. Shankar⁴  Robert O. Wright⁵  Linda Valeri⁶  Md Omar Sharif Ibne Hasan⁷  Quazi Quamruzzaman⁷ 

[1] Department of Environmental Health - EOME Program, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Landmark Center, 401 Park Drive, 3rd Floor East, 02215, Boston, MA, USA;Department of Environmental Health - EOME Program, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Landmark Center, 401 Park Drive, 3rd Floor East, 02215, Boston, MA, USA;Department of Neurology, Boston Children’s Hospital, 651 Huntington Avenue, FXB, Room 102, 02115, Boston, MA, USA;Department of Environmental Health - EOME Program, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Landmark Center, 401 Park Drive, 3rd Floor East, 02215, Boston, MA, USA;Department of Neurology, Boston Children’s Hospital, 651 Huntington Avenue, FXB, Room 102, 02115, Boston, MA, USA;Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, 300 Longwood Ave, Children’s Hospital Farley Basement Box 127, 02115, Boston, MA, USA;Department of Nutrition, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, 655 Huntington Avenue, Building 2, Room 331A, 02115, Boston, MA, USA;Department of Preventive Medicine, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, 17 East 102nd Street, 10029, New York, NY, USA;Department of Psychiatry (Biostatistics), McClean Hospital, Belmont Campus, North Belknap, Room 310A, 02478, Belmont, MA, USA;Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA;Dhaka Community Hospital, 190/1, Wireless Railgate Bara Moghbazar, 1217, Dhaka, Bangladesh;

关键词: Bangladesh;    Children;    Environmental toxins;    Heavy metals;    Lead exposure;    Neurodevelopment;    Stunting;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12940-016-0190-4

 received in 2016-07-26, accepted in 2016-10-26,  发布年份 2016

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundLead toxicity is of particular public health concern given its near ubiquitous distribution in nature and established neurotoxicant properties. Similar in its ubiquity and ability to inhibit neurodevelopment, early childhood stunting affects an estimated 34 % of children under 5 in low- and middle-income countries. Both lead and stunting have been shown to be associated with decreased neurodevelopment, although the relationship between these childhood burdens is underexplored. The association between lead exposure and stunting has been previously established, yet limited data are available on susceptibility windows.MethodsWhole blood lead samples were collected from rural Bangladeshi children at delivery (umbilical cord blood) and at age 20–40 months (fingerstick blood). Stunting was determined using the Child Growth Standards developed from the World Health Organization Multicentre Growth Reference Study. Children with height for age < -2 z-scores below the median of the WHO Child Growth Standards were classified as stunted in all analyses.ResultsMedian (IQR) umbilical cord and fingerstick blood lead levels were 3.1 (1.6–6.3) μg/dl and 4.2 (1.7–7.6) μg/dl, respectively. In adjusted multivariable regression models, the odds of stunting at 20–40 months increased by 1.12 per μg/dl increase in blood lead level (OR = 1.12, 95 % CI: 1.02–1.22). No association was found between cord blood lead level and risk of stunting (OR = 0.97, 95 % CI: 0.94–1.00).ConclusionsThere is a significant association between stunting and concurrent lead exposure at age 20–40 months. This association is slightly attenuated after controlling for study clinic site. Additional research including more precise timing of lead exposure during these critical 20–40 months is needed.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s). 2016