This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow E-mail this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My File Cabinet
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via CrossRef
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Geltman, P. L.
Right arrow Articles by Cochran, J.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Geltman, P. L.
Right arrow Articles by Cochran, J.
Related Collections
Right arrow Therapeutics & Toxicology
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Facebook   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati   Add to Twitter  
What's this?

PEDIATRICS Vol. 108 No. 1 July 2001, pp. 158-162

Lead Poisoning Among Refugee Children Resettled in Massachusetts, 1995 to 1999

Received Jul 6, 2000; accepted Jan 19, 2001.

Paul L. Geltman*, Dagger , Mary Jean Brown§, and Jennifer Cochran*

From the * Refugee and Immigrant Health Program, Massachusetts Department of Public Health; Dagger  Department of Pediatrics, Boston University School of Medicine; and § State Laboratory Institute, Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts.

Objective.  Lead poisoning has been reported among immigrant and refugee populations in the United States; however, prevalences of elevated blood lead (BPb) and risk factors have not been described fully among newly arrived refugee children. This study was conducted to address this lack of data.

Methods.  We performed analysis of BPb levels among a cohort of refugee children, aged <7 years, who arrived in Massachusetts between July 1, 1995, and December 31, 1999. Gender, age, birthplace, time of year of lead testing, intestinal parasitoses, anemia, and growth retardation were examined as predictors of elevated BPb.

Results.  BPb levels >= 10 µg/dL were found in 11.3% of 693 children shortly after their arrival in the United States. Children from developing countries had the highest prevalences, including 27% of Somalis and Vietnamese. Country of birth was the strongest predictor of elevated BPb. No association between elevated lead and age was found. Among 213 children with BPb tests >= 6 months after the initial test, 7% had newly elevated levels of >= 10 µg/dL.

Conclusions.  The prevalence of elevated BPb levels in recently arrived refugee children is more than twice that of US-born children. Children who are at particular risk are those from developing countries where environmental exposures are more ubiquitous. In addition, a significant percentage of refugees acquired elevated levels after arrival, thus suggesting the importance of follow-up testing of refugee children. Refugee status should be considered a risk factor for lead poisoning.  Key words:  refugees, immigration, lead, pediatrics.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Facebook Facebook   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati   Add to Twitter Twitter    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 PediatricsHome page
R. L. Jones, D. M. Homa, P. A. Meyer, D. J. Brody, K. L. Caldwell, J. L. Pirkle, and M. J. Brown
Trends in Blood Lead Levels and Blood Lead Testing Among US Children Aged 1 to 5 Years, 1988-2004
Pediatrics, March 1, 2009; 123(3): e376 - e385.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Am. J. Public HealthHome page
P. Tehranifar, J. Leighton, A. H. Auchincloss, A. Faciano, H. Alper, A. Paykin, and S. Wu
Immigration and Risk of Childhood Lead Poisoning: Findings From a Case-Control Study of New York City Children
Am J Public Health, January 1, 2008; 98(1): 92 - 97.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 PediatricsHome page
Committee on Environmental Health
Lead Exposure in Children: Prevention, Detection, and Management
Pediatrics, October 1, 2005; 116(4): 1036 - 1046.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Am. J. Public HealthHome page
P. L. Geltman and J. Cochran
A Private-Sector Preferred Provider Network Model for Public Health Screening of Newly Resettled Refugees
Am J Public Health, February 1, 2005; 95(2): 196 - 199.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 CLIN PEDIATRHome page
W. M. Stauffer, S. Maroushek, and D. Kamat
Medical Screening of Immigrant Children
Clinical Pediatrics, November 1, 2003; 42(9): 763 - 773.
[PDF]