Summary
Results from neuropsychological tests, collected under double-blind-precautions, were evaluated for 115 schoolage children (mean age: 9.4 years) living in a lead smelter area (Stolberg, FRG). Tooth-lead concentrations (PbT) from shed incisor teeth as measures of longtime lead-exposure were available for these children (x = 6.16 ppm; range: 1.9–38.5 ppm), and for 83 of them blood-lead concentrations (PbB) were available as well (x = 14.3 μg/dl; range: 6.8-33.8 μg/dl). The following functional capacities were tested: intelligence (German WISC), perceptual-motor integration (Göttinger Formreproduktionstest = GFT, Diagnosticum for Cerebralschüdigung = DCS), reaction performance (Wiener Determinationsgerät), finger-wrist tapping-speed, and repetitive cancellation-performance (Differentieller Leistungstest). In addition standardized behavior ratings were obtained by the examiners, the mothers, and the teachers. Multiple stepwise regression-analysis (forced solution) was calculated for outcome-variables and Pb-tooth, including age, sex, duration of labor, and socio-hereditary background as covariates. Significant (P< 0.05) or near-significant (P< 0.1) association was established between Pb-tooth and GFT-performance (errors), reaction-performance (false reactions), and four behavioral dimensions as rated by the mothers, namely distractability, restlessness, lack of information, and wasting of time; the proportion of explained variance never exceeded 6%, however, No significant association was found between PbT and WISC verbal-IQ after the effects of “socio-hereditary background” had been eliminated, although there was still a tendency for high level-children (PbT > 10 ppm) to be inferior to low level-children (PbT ≦ 4 ppm) by 4.6 IQ-points after correction for confounding. There was a near-significant, inverse relationship between fingerwrist tapping-speed and Pb-blood. The results are discussed within the framework of attention-deficit disorder, and compared to neurobehavioral Pb-effects from animal-experiments, which provide suggestive evidence for a causal relationship between developmental lead-exposure and certain neurobehavioral deficits.
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Preliminary results of this study were presented at the conference “Heavy Metals in the Environment,” September 15–19,1981 in Amsterdam (Winneke et al. 1981). Part of the data were used for master's theses (Kujanek 1981; Lechner 1982)
This study was carried out at the request and with support of Ministerium für Arbeit, Gesundheit und Soziales des Landes NW. Düsseldorf, FRG
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Winneke, G., Krämer, U., Brockhaus, A. et al. Neuropsychological studies in children with elevated tooth-lead concentrations. Int. Arch Occup Environ Heath 51, 231–252 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00377755
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00377755