Get the Lead Out!

The Chiro.Org Blog


SOURCE:   MedPage Today ~ May 13, 2013

By Nancy Walsh, Staff Writer, MedPage Today


When the FDA finally got around to testing 324 multivitamin-mineral products that target children and pregnant women, they found that only 4 of them were lead-free.   [1]

Now, new research published in the Pediatrics Journal suggests that even low levels of lead in a supplement can have adverse effects on your children.   [2]   Why not use a supplement made correctly, so you can protect your family?


Here’s the Bad news from MedPage Today:


Even Low Lead Exposure Hinders Kids’ Reading


Young children exposed to lead — even at low levels — are at risk for not meeting reading readiness benchmarks in kindergarten, a large study of urban children found.

On tests of reading readiness, children with blood lead levels between 5 and 9 µg/dL scored 4.5 points (95% CI −2.9 to −6.2) lower than those with levels below 5 µg/dL, according to Pat McLaine, DPH, of the University of Maryland in Baltimore, and colleagues.

And those with lead levels of 10 µg/dL and higher had scores 10.1 points (95% CI −7 to −13.3) lower, the researchers reported online in Pediatrics.  [2]

Almost 25 years ago the CDC established 10 µg/dL as a “level of concern” for blood lead levels in children, and more recently determined that children whose levels are 5 µg/dL should be targeted for intervention.

“Learning to read is critical to the entire process of formal education,” McLaine and colleagues stated.

This requires “proficiency in phonologic processing skills (using the sounds of one’s language to process written and oral language) and in the ability to decode new words,” they explained.

A possible association between lead exposure and reading readiness has not previously been examined, but cooperation between school and public health authorities in Providence, R.I., provided an opportunity to consider this.

Using linked data from the Rhode Island Department of Health and Providence’s public school district records, McLaine’s group compared results among 3,406 children who had been tested for blood lead levels an average of three times before entering kindergarten.

Reading readiness was assessed on the Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening-Kindergarten (PALS-K) instrument, which measures reading-relevant cognitive abilities.

The test is given in the fall of kindergarten, and children who score lower than 28 out of a total of 102 are given additional classroom instruction throughout the year, the researchers explained.

The goal is for children to score 81 or higher by the time the test is repeated in the spring.


REFERENCE:

[1]   Survey Data on Lead in Women’s and Children’s Vitamins
FDA Website ~ August 2008
http://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodborneIllnessContaminants/Metals/ucm115941.htm


[2]   Elevated Blood Lead Levels and Reading Readiness at the Start of Kindergarten
Pediatrics 2013 (May 13) [Epub ahead of print]