A-15Peak Blood Lead Levels and Neuropsychological Functioning in Children

Objective: To examine the relationship of peak blood lead levels (BLLs) and neuropsychological status among a group of children evaluated in the context of litigation. Method: Sixty-eight children were administered either the Reitan-Indiana Neuropsychological Battery Younger Children (n = 30; mean age of 6.8 years (SD = 1.04)) or the Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Battery for Older Children (n = 38; mean age of 11.2 years (SD = 1.7)). Results: The average peak BLLs was 38.3 µg/dL (SD = 15.3) among older children and 47.7 µg/dL (SD = 30.2) among younger children were not significantly correlated with the total neuropsychological deficit score (NDS) for either group (r = .09, ns; r = −.29, ns), respectively. While controlling for age, gender, and education, peak BLLs were regressed on the total NDS. Among older children, approximately 10% of the variance in total NDS scores (R² = .097, F(4,33) = .89, ns) was accounted for, while the proportion of variance in total NDS scores explained uniquely by peak BLLs was approximately 0.5% (semi-partial correlation = .071, t(37) = .429, ns). Among younger children, approximately 50% of the variance in total NDSs (R² = .518, F (4,24) = 6.45, p < .001) was accounted; however, the variance in total NDSs (semi-partial = .081, t(28) = .568, ns) was only 0.6%. Conclusion: Consistent with reports by the Center for Disease Control (2005), a history of elevated blood lead levels was found to account for <1% of the variance in overall neuropsychological functioning.