Insights in Public Health: The State of Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention in Hawai‘i

摘要

Childhood lead poisoning has long been recognized as an important public health concern. Lead has no biological role in the human body; therefore, any detected lead in the blood is considered abnormal and indicates an exposure to environmental lead contamination. In children, low to moderate elevated blood lead levels (BLLs) are associated with difficulty paying attention, decreased IQ and poor academic performance,1–3 and can have a profound effect on the life of a child, their family and their community. Most children with elevated blood lead levels are asymptomatic, with neuropsychiatric deficits appearing as children age. Children with very high BLLs (45 μg/dL) may have acute symptoms such as abdominal pain, vomiting, constipation, anemia, lethargy, irritability, and loss of appetite.4 In 2012, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) lowered the blood lead reference value from 10 μg/dL to 5 μg/dL and reinforced the need for primary prevention of lead poisoning by eliminating environmental exposure to lead.5,6 This reference value is based on lead levels in US population studies and is used to identify children exposed to lead in whom intervention is indicated.