Title
Blood lead levels and associated factors among children residents of a callao district
Other title
Niveles de plomo sanguíneo y factores asociados en niños residentes de un distrito del callao
Date Issued
01 January 2018
Access level
metadata only access
Resource Type
journal article
Publisher(s)
Sociedad Venezolana de Farmacologia y de Farmacologia Clinica y Terapeutica
Abstract
Objectives. Classifying blood lead levels and identifying the factors associated with elevated blood lead levels in children living in a district of Callao. Materials and methods. Transversal descriptive study. The study population was composed of children of both sexes from 1 to 13 years old; the data collection was conducted between March and April 2017. Results. The 310 children studied presented an average blood lead level of 8.59 μg/dL, while the median (P50) blood lead level was higher in males (p=0.008). Blood lead levels in 18.1% of the study population (n=56) were <5 μg/dL; in 54.5% (n=169) levels ranged between 5 and 10 μg/dL, whereas 27.4% (n=85) reported blood lead levels of ≥10 μg/dL furthermore, blood lead levels were significantly different between genders (p=0.007), while significantly more children under 10 years of age (p=0.008) and whose parents did not receive any training and/or education regarding the risks of lead exposure (p<0.001) reported blood lead levels of ≥10 μg/dL. Statistically significant risk factors linked to elevated blood lead levels included, residence with dirt floor (OR:2.92, 95% CI: 1.26-6.78), ingesting of dirt (OR:1.76, 95% CI: 1.02-3.07), biting or sucking of pencils (OR:1.86; IC95%: 1.12-3.10) and biting or sucking of toys (OR:1.97, IC95%: 1.16-3.33). Conclusions. A high proportion of children showed elevated blood lead levels, with associated factors either related or not to the home. Certainly, it is imperative to take actions linked to public health policies, adopting the new thresholds considered in international health regulations.
Start page
135
End page
144
Volume
37
Issue
2
Language
Spanish
OCDE Knowledge area
Urología, Nefrología
Subjects
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-85049809444
Source
Archivos Venezolanos de Farmacologia y Terapeutica
ISSN of the container
07980264
Sources of information:
Directorio de Producción Científica
Scopus