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In the United States, teenagers commonly have small amounts of lead in their bloodstream, and this may be causing damage to their kidneys, according to a report released by U.S. researchers last Jan. 11.
The researchers found proof of early kidney damage in kids with blood lead content way below the normally considered dangerous levels, and said that this could result in kidney disease when these children become older.
In a statement made by study lead author Dr. Jeffrey Fadrowski of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, he said that as far as they know, "this is the first study to show that very low levels of lead may impact kidney function in healthy children, which underscores the need to minimize sources of lead exposure."
Despite the fact that lead sources have been radically reduced in the United States, the metal may still be causing damage to the health of certain people, according to Fadrowski and colleagues in their report published in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine.
For the study, the research team examined test results from 769 teenagers 12 to 20 years old who participated in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 1988 to 1994.
When the study population was divided into four groups, teenagers in the group with the highest lead levels in their blood showed evidence of slowing in their kidney function.
Dr. Susan Furth of Johns Hopkins Children's Center, one of the researchers involved in the study, said that their findings were particularly remarkable "because we saw slightly decreased kidney function in healthy children without conditions that could account for it, and this could spell more kidney trouble down the road as these children get older or if they acquire additional risk factors for kidney disease, such as high blood pressure and diabetes."
The mean level of lead found in the teens who participated in the study was 1.5 micrograms per deciliter, a level that’s considered safe based on the standards of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. By the CDC’s standards, the level of concern for this metal is 10 micrograms per deciliter of blood.
MORE INTENSIVE MONITORING PUSHED
The teenagers whose lead levels were higher than 2.9 micrograms showed slower kidney function. Moreover, the chances were higher that they come from poor families with lower levels of educational attainment.
Twenty-six million of Americans suffer from chronic kidney disease, which can be due to or aggravated by high blood pressure, according to the researchers.
In the United States, exposure to lead has been reduced considerably, mainly as a result of measures such as the ban on lead in gasoline in 1996, and the removal of lead from paint in 1978.
However, the researchers further said, majority of the general population in the U.S. still has detectable levels of lead in their blood.
The sources of lead exposure at present, according to the researchers, "include industry, lead paint, folk remedies, glazed pottery, candy, and drinking water in some urban areas, and certain populations continue to experience high lead exposure, in particular, inner-city children and adults living in areas of low socioeconomic status."
The research team pushed for more intensive monitoring of both lead levels and kidney function in children.
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