Environmental Health Perspectives Volume 105, Number 9, September 1997
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Associations between Soil Lead and Childhood Blood Lead in Urban New Orleans and Rural Lafourche Parish of Louisiana
Howard W. Mielke,
1
Dianne Dugas,
2
Paul W. Mielke, Jr.,
3
Kabrina S. Smith,
2
Stephanie L. Smith,
2
and Chris R. Gonzales
1
1
Institute of Bioenvironmental Toxicology, Xavier University, New Orleans, LA 70125 USA
2
Environmental Epidemiology and Toxicology, Louisiana Office of Public Health, New Orleans, LA 70112 USA
3
Department of Statistics, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523 USA
Abstract
This study evaluates associations between soil lead concentrations (SPb), age of housing, and blood lead levels (BPb) of children in metropolitan New Orleans and Lafourche Parish, Louisiana. The database includes over 2,600 SPb and 6,000 BPb samples paired by their median values and pre-1940 housing percentages for 172 census tracts. Associations were evaluated with Fisher's exact test and Spearman's rho test and modeled with the least sum of absolute deviations regression. Census tracts with low SPb are associated with new housing, but census tracts with high SPb are evenly split between old and new housing [Fisher's exact test,
p
= 8.60
10
-13
for the percentage of housing built before 1940 (percent pre-1940 housing) versus SPb]. The
p
-value for SPb versus BPb is 12 orders of magnitude stronger than the
p
-value for percent pre-1940 housing versus BPb. Census tracts with low BPb are associated with new housing, but census tracts with high BPb are split evenly between old and new housing (Fisher's exact test,
p
= 1.67
10
-12
for percent pre-1940 housing versus BPb). Census tracts with high SPb are associated with high BPb and census tracts with low SPb are associated with low BPb (Fisher's exact test, p = 3.18
10
-24
for BPb versus SPb). The Spearman's rho test of the association of SPb and BPb in Orleans and Lafourche Parishes yielded a
p
-value of 6.12
10
-24
. The least sum of absolute deviations regression model of the data is BPb = 1.845 + 0.7215 (SPb)
0.4
. A comparison of the modeled BPb versus observed BPb has an
r
2
of 0.552 and a
p
-value of 2.83
10
-23
that this relation was due to chance. If blood lead in children is more closely associated to soil lead than to the age of housing, then primary lead prevention should also include soil lead.
Key words
: age of housing, blood lead, childhood lead exposure, lead-based paint, leaded gasoline, soil lead, urban-rural blood lead and soil lead differences.
Environ Health Perspectives
105:950-954 (1997)
Address correspondence to H.W. Mielke, Xavier University, College of Pharmacy, 7325 Palmetto Street, New Orleans, LA 70125 USA.
Our study has benefited from comments of many reviewers. Special thanks to Georgia M. Bryant and Sarah Rountree for their assistance. This research was supported by ATSDR cooperative agreement U50/ATU398948 to Xavier University and by ATSDR grant H75/ATH690096 to Environmental Epidemiology and Toxicology, Louisiana Office of Public Health.
Received 10 January 1997; accepted 5 June 1997.
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Last Update: September 17, 1997
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