Abstract:
Objective To characterize the blood lead levels among children aged 0-6 years in Guangzhou and provide measure for intervention.
Methods A total of 14 970 children aged 0-6 years, who visited the Guangdong Women and Children Hospital for health examination from January 2015 to May 2017, were recruited.Blood lead levels were measured using atomic absorption spectrometry.
Results The mean blood lead level was (32.5±19.3) μg/L (ranged 1.4-319.0 μg/L).About 0.8% of the children tested had lead levels greater than 100μg/L.Blood lead level in boys (33.0±19.3) μg/L was higher than that in girls (31.7±19.2) μg/L.Blood lead levels were correlated with children's age, with lower blood lead (29.3±18.3) μg/L in 0 year group and higher (37.1±17.8) μg/L in 6 years group.
Conclusions The blood lead level is relatively low among children aged 0-6 years in Guangzhou.An association noted between children's age and blood lead levels highlights a need for greater efforts to control and monitor lead exposure in children.