Blood Lead Levels among Resettled Refugee Children in Select US States, 2010–2014

Details

• Alternative Title:
  Pediatrics
• Personal Author:
  Pezzi, Clelia ; Lee, Deborah ; Kennedy, Lori ; Aguirre, Jenny ; Titus, Melissa ; Ford, Rebecca ; Cochran, Jennifer ; Smock, Laura ; Mamo, Blaine ; Urban, Kailey ; Morillo, Jennifer ; Hughes, Stephen ; Payton, Colleen ; Scott, Kevin ; Montour, Jessica ; Matheson, Jasmine ; Brown, Mary Jean ; Mitchell, Tarissa
• Description:
  Background:
  
  Elevated blood lead levels (EBLL, ≥5 µg/dL) are more prevalent among refugee children resettled in the United States than the general US population and contribute to permanent health and neurodevelopmental problems. Therefore, CDC recommends routine screening of refugee children aged 6 months to 16 years upon arrival in the United States, and retesting those aged 6 months-<6 years between 3 and 6 months post-arrival.
  
  Methods:
  
  We analyzed EBLL prevalence among refugee children resettling to the U.S. by country of pre-departure examination and among those rescreened 3 to 6 months after initial testing. We assessed the prevalence of EBLL among refugee children 6 mos–16 yrs) screened during the domestic refugee medical examination between January 1, 2010, and September 30, 2014 and changes in EBLL during follow-up screening.
  
  Results:
  
  Twelve sites provided data on 27,284 children representing nearly 25% of refugee children resettling during the time period of this analysis. The prevalence of EBLL during initial testing was 19.3%. EBLL was associated with younger age, male sex, and country of overseas examination. Among 1,121 children from five sites with available follow-up test results, EBLL prevalence was 22.7%; higher follow-up BLLs were associated with younger age and country of pre-departure examination.
  
  Conclusions:
  
  EBLL decreased over the time period of our analysis in this population of refugee children. Refugee children may be exposed to lead before and after resettlement to the United States. Efforts to identify incoming refugee populations at high risk for EBLL can inform prevention efforts both domestically and overseas.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Adolescent Child Child, Preschool Environmental Exposure Female Humans Infant Lead Lead Poisoning Male Refugees United States

  More +
• Source:
  Pediatrics. 143(5)
• Pubmed ID:
  30996119
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC6959973
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Funding:
  CC999999/ImCDC/Intramural CDC HHSUnited States/
• Volume:
  143
• Issue:
  5
• Collection(s):
  CDC Public Access
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:f04cc1e3285afb8ac5741a30a14b0385cb9dd33f60200823877b6202b7fdd4f1
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/84331/cdc_84331_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 937.66 KB ]