The Impact of Low-Level Lead Toxicity on School Performance Among Hispanic Subgroups in the Chicago Public Schools

Details

• Personal Author:
  Blackowicz MJ ; Evans A ; Haider D ; Hryhorczuk DO ; Lanphear BP ; Lewis DA ; Rankin KM
• Description:
  Background: Environmental lead exposure detrimentally affects children's educational performance, even at very low blood lead levels (BLLs). Among children in Chicago Public Schools (CPS), the severity of the effects of BLL on reading and math vary by racial subgroup (White vs. Hispanic vs. non-Hispanic Black). We investigated the impact of BLL on standardized test performance by Hispanic subgroup (Mexican, Puerto Rican, and Other Hispanic). Methods: We examined 12,319 Hispanic children born in Chicago between 1994 and 1998 who were tested for BLL between birth and 2006 and enrolled in the 3rd grade at a CPS school between 2003 and 2006. We linked the Chicago birth registry, the Chicago Blood Lead Registry, and 3rd grade Illinois Standard Achievement Test (ISAT) scores to examine associations between BLL and school performance. Primary analyses were restricted to children with BLL below 10 µg/dL (0.483 µmol/L). Results: BLLs below 10 µg/dL (0.483 µmol/L) were inversely associated with reading and math scores in all Hispanic subgroups. Adjusted Relative Risks (RRadj) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for reading and math failure were 1.34 (95% CI = 1.25, 1.63) and 1.53 (95% CI = 1.32, 1.78), respectively, per each additional 5 µg/dL of lead exposure for Hispanic children; RRadj did not differ across subgroups. We estimate that 7.0% (95% CI = 1.8, 11.9) of reading and 13.6% (95% CI = 7.7, 19.2) of math failure among Hispanic children can be attributed to exposure to BLLs of 5-9 µg/dL (0.242 to 0.435 µmol/L) vs. 0-4 µg/dL (0-0.193 µmol/L). The RRadj of math failure for each 5 µg/dL (0.242 µmol/L) increase in BLL was notably (p = 0.074) stronger among black Puerto Rican children (RRadj = 5.14; 95% CI = 1.65-15.94) compared to white Puerto Rican children (RRadj = 1.50; 95% CI = 1.12-2.02). Conclusions: Early childhood lead exposure is associated with poorer achievement on standardized reading and math tests in the 3rd grade for Mexican, Puerto Rican, and Other Hispanic children enrolled in Chicago Public Schools. While we did not see interactions between BLL and ISAT performance by Hispanic subgroup, the stronger association between BLL and math failure for Black Puerto Rican children is intriguing and warrants further study. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Education Environmental Exposure Epidemiology Lead Lead Poisoning Occupational Health Poisoning Race Factors Safety
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Lead Poisoning Blood Lead Levels Children Environmental Exposure Hispanics Lead Poisoning Racial Factors School Performance
• ISSN:
  1660-4601
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Illinois ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  13
• Issue:
  8
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20063528
• Citation:
  Int J Environ Res Public Health 2016 Aug; 13(8):774
• Contact Point Address:
  Michael J. Blackowicz, Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health, Chicago, IL 60612, USA
• Email:
  mblack21@uic.edu
• CAS Registry Number:
  Lead (CAS RN 7439-92-1)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2016
• Performing Organization:
  University of Illinois at Chicago
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
• End Date:
  20290630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:55d7904d05b6843c0f438f8e0a80f3dd59e2283d5affb1604313dcc9013a1960103b70e45d3cd35c329ad34b401eea0e35616f3bb05d20172c1eea8e52bde21f
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/222118/cdc_222118_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 481.50 KB ]