Lead poisoning in children

Lead poisoning can have a large impact on the child at both the embryonic and foetal during pregnancy. Here's a look at the main issues:

• Brain development: Exposure to lead in the womb interferes with the baby’s brain development. Experts explain that the lead accumulated in the mom-to-be’s bones mix with her blood. During pregnancy, the lead in the mom’s blood “freely” passes through the placenta to reach the baby. Research shows that even low levels of exposure to lead (more than 5 micrograms a deciliter) in the womb can affect neurological development in children for up to three years. Iron deficiency in the mom-to-be and the baby make things worse, by increasing the absorption of lead.
  Additionally, until the embryo (the stage before the baby becomes a foetus) develops a proper blood-brain barrier, this blood can also affect the developing brain of the embryo. The blood-brain barrier is a sort of filter that allows water, oxygen, etc., in but keeps other substances in blood out of the brain. Research shows that this barrier develops as early as the eighth week of gestation.
• Gene expression: Our genes determine everything from which enzymes the body can make to how we look. Exposure to lead in the womb also interferes with gene expression, which means there could be any number of fallouts including future risk for health problems.
• Kidney problems
• Blood pressure: Based on the New Hampshire Birth Cohort Study with 323 children, mean age 5.5 years, lead exposure in the womb has been linked with an increase in systolic blood pressure in young children, especially boys. Systolic blood pressure is indicated by the upper number in a blood pressure machine reading—it signifies the force that our blood vessels experience when the heart beats/pumps.

A baby can have variable exposure to lead as soon as he or she is born, based on environmental and home factors. Here are some health effects of lead poisoning in children to look out for after the birth:

• Mental retardation and heart problems: A 2004 meta-analysis showed that nearly 1% of all cases of mild mental retardation and cardiovascular problems (starting with high blood pressure) in the world can be traced back to lead exposure.
• Immune dysfunction: Lead exposure impairs the immune system. However, the effects are not always visible immediately after exposure; they may show up months or years later when the immune system is placed under stress by an infection or other illness. Exposure to lead can increase the risk of allergies, infections, autoimmune diseases and cancer.

Lead is a known neurotoxin. Here are some ways in which lead poisoning can affect the central nervous system, including the brain, in children:

• Lower intelligence quotient (IQ)
• Behavioural changes like shorter attention span (the child loses interest or focus easily and quickly) and antisocial behaviour
• Difficulty concentrating
• Headache
• Radial nerve neuropathy, or lead palsy, which affects the radial nerve going through the wrist. This condition can cause pain and weakness and restrict movement in the wrist and fingers
• Delays in speaking and picking up words (learning language)
• Increased pressure in a section of the brain (intracranial pressure)
• In the case of high levels of lead exposure, the patient may develop ataxia (a movement disorder), seizure or coma. Some patients could even die.
• According to India’s National Health Portal, “Children who survive severe lead poisoning may be left with mental retardation and behavioural disorders.

Some stomach and gut issues that can arise due to lead poisoning in children are:

• Loss of appetite (anorexia)
• Nausea and vomiting
• Abdominal pain
• Constipation
• Metallic taste in the mouth
• Lead colic: If the child has repeated or intermittent episodes of stomachache, vomiting and constipation, take them to a paediatrician.

The nerves and muscles are closely linked, as the nerves transmit messages to the muscles on what to do and where to go. These are some musculoskeletal (muscle and bone) symptoms of lead poisoning in children:

• Joint pain, which does not go away
• Short stature
• Weight loss
• Weakness

Lead poisoning affects multiple systems of the body. Here are some of the other symptoms of this heavy mental poisoning in children:

• Fatigue
• Feeling sick (malaise)
• Anaemia
• High blood pressure and heart problems linked with hypertension
• Burton’s lines: These are blue-purple lead lines where the teeth meet the gums—they are a marker of chronic lead poisoning

Some symptoms are more common in adults, but may also be seen in children. These include muscle pain, memory issues and lead lines in teeth (Burton’s line). Studies have shown that increased blood lead levels may affect pregnancy outcomes, including spontaneous abortion, premature birth, stillbirth, birth defects.

Children have a higher risk of exposure to lead poisoning than adults for a number of reasons:

• Greater absorption: Children absorb 50% of the lead that they are exposed to compared with 10% for grown-ups.
• Higher impact: According to the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Environmental Health, 2003, there is a period of vulnerability in early life—before birth and immediately after— that has no equivalent in adults.
• Smaller size: According to the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Environmental Health, 2003, also “eat more food, drink more water and breathe more air per unit of body weight” than adults, so their exposure to lead via food, drinks and air is more.
• Curiosity and pica: Children are likely to put things in their mouths to discover the world around them. If these items happen to be covered in decorative paint or glazes that contain lead, that increases their exposure. Pica is a condition in which people like to eat dirt; it is more common in children than in grown-ups.
• Nutritional deficiencies: Research shows that vitamin C deficiency, iron deficiency, calcium deficiency, and to a smaller extent, zinc deficiency and phosphorus deficiency is linked to higher absorption of lead in the body. Though malnutrition can occur at any age, children are more prone to it. (Please note: While research has linked deficiencies of the minerals and vitamin to greater absorption of lead, taking large quantities of these nutrients does not seem to address already accumulated levels of lead in the body.)
• Young age: Lead accumulates in the body over time, and its effects also become apparent over the years. According to the World Health Organization, people who are exposed to lead as children have many more years ahead of them to develop complications due to the exposure. One such complication is dementia.