PEDIATRICS Vol. 95 No. 3 March 1995, pp. A53
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ENVIRONMENTAL LEAD AND CHILDREN'S INTELLIGENCE: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF THE EPIDEMIOLOGICAL EVIDENCE

J. F. L. MD

Objective. To quantify the magnitude of the relation between full scale IQ in children aged 5 or more and their body burden of lead.

Design. A systematic review of 26 epidemiological studies since 1979: prospective studies of birth cohorts, cross sectional studies of blood lead, and cross sectional studies of tooth lead.

Public Health Implications:

• Early (neonatal) lead exposure seems not to affect child IQ in the general population;

• Blood lead and tooth lead measures during the first few years of life show a weak, but highly significant, inverse association with IQ at ages 5 upwards;

• At face value, it seems that a typical doubling of body lead burden is linked to a loss of 1-2 IQ points;

• Given that these are observational studies, the extent to which lead actually causes an IQ deficit in the general population of children inevitably remains open to debate; and

• The overall quantification of the lead-IQ association will help in determining public health policy in limiting children's exposure to environmental lead.