A growing body of literature suggests a relationship between metals and a threatened health status among children, adolescents, and adults. Recently, several investigators have reported a direct link between exposure to metal and diminished affective, behavioral, and cognitive performance of school children. The purpose of the present study was to review and analyze methods and procedures used to understand the relationship between exposure to metals and cognitive, social, and motor functioning of school children.
References
1.
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. (1994) Toxicological profile for mercury, update (Report No. TP-93/10). Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control.
2.
BaghurstP. A.McMichaelA. J.WiggN. R.VimpaniG. V.RobertsonE. F.RobertsR. J.TongS. (1992) Environmental exposure to lead and children's intelligence at the age of 7 years: The Port Pirie Cohort Study. New England Journal of Medicine, 327, 1279–1284.
3.
BaserM. E.MarionD. (1990) A statewide case registry for surveillance of occupational heavy metals absorption. American Journal of Public Health, 80, 162–164.
4.
BellingerD.LevitonA.WaternauxC.NeedlemanH. L.RabinowitzM. (1987) Longitudinal analyses of prenatal and postnatal lead exposure and early cognitive development. New England Journal of Medicine, 316, 1037–1043.
5.
BellingerD.LevitonA.WaternauxC.NeedlemanH.RabinowitzM. (1989) Low-level lead exposure, social class, and infant development. Neurotoxicology and Teratology, 10, 497–503.
6.
BellingerD.SlomanJ.LevitonA.RabinowitzM.NeedlemanH. L.WaternauxC. (1991) Low-level lead exposure and children's cognitive function in the preschool years. Pediatrics, 87, 219–227.
7.
Bonithon-KoppC.HuelG.MorreauT.WendlingR. (1986) Prenatal exposure to lead and cadmium and psychomotor development of the child at 6 years. Neurobehavioral Toxicology and Teratology, 8, 307–310.
8.
CookT. D.CampbellD. T. (1979) Quasi-experimentation: Design & analysis issues for field settings. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.
9.
DammD.GrandjeanG.LyngbyeT.TrillingsgaardA.HansenO. N. (1993) Early lead exposure and neonatal jaundice: Relation to neurobehavioral performance at 15 years of age. Neurotoxicology and Teratology, 15, 171–181.
10.
DietrichK. N.BergerO. G.SuccopP. A.HammondP. B.BornscheinR. L. (1993) The developmental consequences of low to moderate prenatal and postnatal lead exposure: Intellectual attainment in the Cincinnati lead study cohort following school entry. Neurotoxicology and Teratology, 15, 37–44.
11.
DietrichK. N.SuccopP. A.BergerO. G.HammondP. B.BornscheinR. L. (1991) Lead exposure and the cognitive development of urban preschool children: The Cincinnati Lead Study Cohort at age 4 years. Neurotoxicology and Teratology, 13, 203–211.
12.
DietrichK. N.SuccopP. A.BergerO. G.KeithR. W. (1992) Lead exposure and the central auditory processing abilities and cognitive development of urban children: The Cincinnati Lead Study Cohort at age 5 years. Neurotoxicology and Teratology, 14, 51–56.
13.
ErnhartC. B.Morrow-TlucakM.WolfA. W.SuperD.DrotarD. (1989) Low level lead exposure in the prenatal and early preschool periods: Intelligence prior to school entry. Neurotoxicology and Teratology, 11, 161–170.
14.
FergussonD. M.HorwoodL. J. (1993) The effects of lead levels on the growth of word recognition in middle childhood. International Journal of Epidemiology, 22, 891–897.
15.
FrateD. A.AllgoodJ.BensonW. D.FrateJ. A.IttenbachR. F.JuergensJ. P.KolassaM.O'NealJ. M. (1994) Subsistence fishing and agricultural pesticide exposure in the Mississippi-Yazoo River(s) alluvial plains: An ecological model. Paper presented at 1st International Symposium on Ecosystem Health and Medicine Conference, Ottawa, Canada.
16.
FribergL.NordbergG. F. (1986) Introduction. In FribergL.NordbergG. F.VoukV. B. (Eds.), Handbook on the toxicology of metals. Vol. I. New York: Elsevier. Pp. 1–13.
17.
HansenJ. C.ChristensenL. B.TarpU. (1980) Hair lead concentrations in children with minimal cerebral dysfunction. Danish Medical Bulletin, 27, 259–263.
18.
HarveyP. G.HamlinM. W.KumarR.MorganG.SpurgeonA. (1988) Relationships between blood lead, behavior, psychometric and neuropsychological test performance in young children. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 6, 145–156.
19.
KneipT. J.FribergL. (1986) Sampling and analytical methods. In FribergL.NordbergG. F.VoukV. B. (Eds.), Handbook on the toxicology of metals. Vol. I. New York: Elsevier. Pp. 36–67.
20.
LevitonA.BellingerD.AllredE. N.RabinowitzM.NeedlemanH.SchoenbaumS. (1993) Pre- and postnatal low-level lead exposure and children's dysfunction in school. Environmental Research, 60, 30–43.
21.
LyngbyeT.HansenO. N.TrillingsgaardA.BeeseI.GrandjeanP. (1990) Learning disabilities in children: Significance of low-level lead-exposure and confounding factors. Acta Pediatric Scandinavia, 79, 352–360.
22.
MarloweM. (1992) Low level aluminum exposure and childhood motor performance. Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine, 7, 147–152.
23.
MarloweM.BlissL. B. (1993) Hair element concentrations and young children's classroom and home behavior. Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine, 8, 79–88.
24.
MarloweM.CossairtA.WelchK.ErreraJ. (1984) Hair mineral content as a predictor of learning disabilities. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 17, 418–421.
25.
MarloweM.ErreraJ. (1982) Low lead levels and behavior problems in children. Behavior Disorders, 7, 163–172.
26.
MarloweM.ErreraJ.JacobsJ. (1983a) Increased lead and cadmium burdens among mentally retarded children and children with borderline intelligence. American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 87, 477–483.
27.
MarloweM.ErreraJ.JacobsJ. (1983b) Low metal levels in emotionally disturbed children. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 93, 386–390.
28.
MarloweM.FolioR.HallD.ErreraJ. (1982) Increased lead burdens and trace-mineral status in mentally retarded children. The Journal of Special Education, 16(1), 87–99.
29.
MarloweM.MoonC.ErreraJ.JacobsJ.BrunsonM.StellernJ.SchroederC. (1986) Low mercury levels and childhood intelligence. Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine, 1, 43–49.
30.
MarloweM.SchneiderH. G.BlissL. B. (1991) Hair mineral analysis in emotionally disturbed and violence prone children. International Journal of Biosocial Research, 13, 169–179.
31.
McMichaelA.BaghurstP. A.VimpaniG. V.RobertsonE. F.WiggN. R.TongS. (1992) Sociodemographic factors modifying the effect of environmental lead on neuropsychological development in early childhood. Neurotoxicology and Teratology, 14, 321–327.
32.
MoonC.MarloweM.StellernJ.ErreraJ. (1985) Main and interaction effects of metallic pollutants on cognitive functioning. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 18, 217–222.
33.
NeedlemanH. L. (1992) The poisoning of America's children: Lead exposure, children's brains, and the ability to learn. Washington, DC: National Commission to Prevent Infant Mortality, National Health/Education Consortium. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. 354 071)
34.
NeedlemanH. L.GatsonisC. A. (1991) Low-level lead exposure and the IQ of children. Journal of the American Medical Association, 263, 673–678.
35.
NeedlemanH. L.GunnoeCLevitonA.ReedR.PeresieH.MaherC.BarrettP. (1979) Deficits in psychologic and classroom performance of children with elevated dentine levels. New England Journal of Medicine, 300, 689–695.
36.
NeedlemanH. L.SchellA.BellingerD.LevitonA.AllredE. (1990) The long-term effects of low doses of lead in childhood: An 11-year follow-up report. New England Journal of Medicine, 322, 83–88.
37.
RabinowitzM. B.WangJ. D.SoongW. T. (1992) Apparent threshold of lead's effect on child intelligence. Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 48, 688–695
38.
RuffH. A.BijurP. E.MarkowitzM.MaY. C.RosenJ. F. (1993) Declining blood lead levels and cognitive changes in moderately lead-poisoned children. Journal of the American Medical Association, 269, 1641–1646.
39.
SchellA. (1990) Low level lead exposure during childhood and reading achievement in childhood and young adulthood. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Boston Univer.
40.
SciarilloW. G.AlexanderG.FarrellK. (1992) Lead exposure and child behavior. American Journal of Public Health, 82, 1356–1360.
41.
ShaheenS. J. (1984) Neuromaturation and behavior development: The case of childhood lead poisoning. Developmental Psychology, 20, 542–550.
42.
ShenX.Di GuoD.XuJ.WangM.TaoS.ZhouJ.GaoX.LaoH. (1992) The adverse effect of marginally higher lead level on intelligence development of children: A Shanghai study. Indian Journal of Pediatrics, 59, 233–238.
43.
StilesK. M.BellingerD. C. (1993) Neuropsychological correlates of low-level lead exposure in school-age children: A prospective study. Neurotoxicology and Teratology, 15, 27–35.
44.
ThatcherR. W.LesterM. L.McAlasterR.HorstR.IgnaslasS. W. (1983) Intelligence and lead toxins in rural children. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 16, 355–359.
45.
ThorntonI.AbrahamsP. (1984) Historical records of metal pollution in the environment. In NriaguJ. O. (Ed.), Changing metal cycles and human health. New York: Springer-Verlag. Pp. 7–25.
46.
VaughnE. (1993) Individual and cultural differences in adaptation to environmental risks. American Psychologist, 48, 673–680.
47.
WeissB. (1983) Behavioral toxicology and environmental health science. American Psychologist, 39, 1175–1187.
48.
WiggN. R.VimpaniG. G.McMichaelA. J.BaghurstP. A.RobertsonE. F.RobertsR. J. (1988) Port Pirie cohort study: Childhood blood lead and neuropsychological development at age two years. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 42, 213–219.
