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American Journal of Epidemiology Vol. 140, No. 6: 489-499
Copyright © 1994 by The Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health

research-article

Tooth Lead Levels and IQ in School-Age Children: The Port Pine Cohort Study

Anthony J. McMichael1,, Peter A. Baghurst2, Graham V. Vimpani3, Neil R. Wigg4, Evelyn F. Robertson5 and Shilu Tong1,2

1Department of Community Medicine, Medical School, University of Adelaide Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
2Division of Human Nutrition, Commonwealth Scientific Industrial Research Organisation Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
3Discipline of Paediatrics, University of Newcastle Hamilton, New South Wales, Australia
4Child and Adolescent Family Health Services Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
5Department of Chemical Pathology, Adelaide Children's Hospital North Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

Reprint requests to Prof. Anthony J. McMichael, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel St., London WC1E 7HT, England

The relation between lead concentration in deciduous central upper incisor teeth and intellectual functioning was examined in 262 children who were followed from birth to age 7 years in the lead smelter town of Port Pirie, South Australia, and its environs. Intellectual functioning of the children was assessed over the 3-year period from 1986 to 1989 with the revised Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-R) while each child was In his or her eighth year. There was an inverse relation between tooth lead concentration and intellectual development; the intelligence quotient declined by 2.6 points (90% confidence Interval (CI) 0.13–4.9) for each natural-log unit increase in tooth lead concentration, expressed in parts per million. Some WISC-R subscales were more strongly associated with lead exposure than others. In particular, tooth lead was significantly negatively associated with scores for the "Block Design" test (partial regression coefficient –1.25 points per unit of natural-log tooth lead; 90% Cl –0.61 to –1.89). No statistically significant interaction between a child's sex and tooth lead concentration was found for any of the WISC-R scales. These findings are in agreement with previously published results from this cohort for which serial blood lead concentrations were used to estimate lifetime lead burden.

child development; cognition; intelligence; lead; tooth


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