"Lead, a known and more importantly, a treatable neurotoxin, would further contribute to the impairment suffered by these children," Dr. Gill Lewendon and colleagues from the South and West Devon Health Authority, Dartington, note in their article.
The researchers took blood samples from 69 children, median 5.7 years of age, with behavioral and/or developmental problems and compared lead concentrations with 136 blood samples from controls.
These tests revealed that the children with behavioral and/or developmental problems had significantly higher mean geometric lead concentrations than controls. Also, a greater proportion of the case children had toxic concentrations of lead (>100 µg/L): 8 of 66 (12%) cases compared with 1 of 137 (0.7%) controls (p < 0.001), the researchers report.
Multiple linear regression showed that the differences in the groups could not be explained by differences in age, sex, or socioeconomic status, they note.
"Given that inexpensive and simple control measures have been shown to be effective in reducing children's blood lead concentrations, we feel that consideration should be given by clinicians as to whether they should be routinelyrequesting a blood lead in children referred to them for developmental and behavioural difficulties," Dr. Lwendon and colleagues advise.
Arch Dis Child 2001;85:286-288.