Objectives:
to describe the levels of environmental exposure to lead among children from two schools in regions with distinct social and environmental features in the municipality of Rio de Janeiro.
Methods:
a pilot study was carried out in a convenience sample of 270 students. Analysis of capillary blood samples was conducted using the Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS). Lead exposure among the children was estimated on the basis of the their daily habits and behavior patterns and the presence of sources of lead in the household or surrounding area.
Results:
the mean concentration of lead in capillary blood was 3.59 μg/dL ± 2.25. Five children (1.85%) had concentrations higher than 10 μg/dL. A statistically significant difference was found in the mean concentration of lead in capillary blood for the variables age (p=0.034), per capita income (p=0.005) and exposure to lead (p=0.044). The variables mean household per capita income and age were inversely proportional to the concentration of lead and exposure status directly proportional. There was a statistically significant difference between the schools (p=0.004) in terms of the prevalence of children exposed to lead.
Conclusions:
although the school variable was not a good predictor of capillary concentrations of lead, the higher prevalence of children exposed to lead was found in the school situated in the most polluted area.
Epidemiology; Environmental health; Environmental exposure; Lead; Child
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