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Lead Zeppelin

September 19, 2006

I don't know what to make of this report:

About one-third of attention deficit cases among U.S. children may be linked with tobacco smoke before birth or to lead exposure afterward, according to provocative new research.

Even levels of lead the government considers acceptable appeared to increase a child's risk of having attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, the study found.

It builds on previous research linking attention problems, including ADHD, with childhood lead exposure and smoking during pregnancy, and offers one of the first estimates for how much those environmental factors might contribute.

A third attributed to prenatal tobacco smoke and postnatal lead? Doesn't that seem like an absolutely huge number? As in, possibly, a million or more children?

I guess this could have affected me, since both of my parents smoked, and I sure as hell have ADD. But then again, I suspect both my parents had ADD as well, which is why this, from the same article, is an interesting perspective:

Dr. Helen Binns, a researcher at Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago, said the study is a thoughtful analysis but doesn't prove lead exposure is among the causes. It's possible, for example, that young children with ADHD are more likely than others to eat old leaded paint chips or inhale leaded paint dust because of their hyperactivity.

Could the case also be made that smokers are more likely to have ADD?

The answer is ... yes!

This study, conducted at Duke and published a year ago in Archives of General Psychiatry, shows a clear link:

Self-reported ADHD symptoms were found to be associated with adult smoking outcome variables in this nationally representative sample, providing further evidence of a likely link between ADHD symptoms and risk for tobacco use.

Interestingly, the ADD cases associated with a mother's smoking are the most severe and the most difficult to treat, according to this Dutch study published this month.

Last tidbit:

There's a new blood test for lead exposure that gives results in three minutes. The test will be available in 115,000 locations, "including healthcare clinics, mobile health units and schools." I assume they won't be able to give the test in schools without parents' or guardians' permission. But still, it's interesting that some schools will be able to give the tests at the very place where problems associated with lead exposure are most likely to manifest themselves.

Posted by LouSchuler at September 19, 2006 07:25 AM

Lead Zeppelin

September 19, 2006

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