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Lead Poisoning and Asthma
An Examination of Comorbidity
Scott N. Myers, MD;
Bruce Rowell, MD;
Helen J. Binns, MD, MPH
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2002;156:863-866.
Objectives To determine the comorbidity of lead poisoning and asthma in urban children,
and to examine associated clinical factors.
Methods One-hundred-one patients at an inner-city clinic with blood lead levels
(BLLs) of 25 µg/dL or higher ( 1.2 µmol/L) (BLL25 group) were
randomly selected from a tracking lead database and matched on age, sex, and
primary language to 101 randomly selected patients with a first BLL recorded
in the database of lower than 5 µg/dL (<0.2 µmol/L) (BLL5 group)
and no subsequent BLLs of 10 µg/dL or higher (0.5 µmol/L).
Medical records were reviewed to determine diagnosis or symptoms of asthma
or wheezing at any visit, immunization status, and number of visits. Analyses
for matched pairs were conducted.
Results The BLL25 and BLL5 groups did not differ on age at diagnostic BLL (26.6
months vs 24.2 months), sex (54% male), or language (12% Spanish). The BLL25
and BLL5 groups had a similar number of subjects with a diagnosis of asthma
(6% vs 11%; odds ratio, 0.5; 95% confidence interval, 0.2-1.6); 26% of BLL25
and 34% of BLL5 subjects had either a diagnosis or symptoms of asthma or wheezing
(odds ratio, 0.7; 95% confidence interval, 0.4-1.3). Subjects with BLL25 were
more likely to have delayed immunization and a first clinic visit when older
than subjects with BLL5.
Conclusions There was no increased likelihood of asthma diagnosis or symptoms among
young children with lead poisoning. Children with lead poisoning also had
delayed medical care. These data may help guide interventions aimed at preventing
or reducing the impact of lead poisoning and asthma.
From the Department of Pediatrics, Hope Children's Hospital, Oak Lawn,
Ill (Dr Myers), Lawndale Christian Health Center, Chicago, Ill (Dr Rowell),
and the Department of Pediatrics, Children's Memorial Hospital, Northwestern
University, Chicago (Dr Binns).
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