ArticleEpidemiology (Cambridge, Mass.)2009
Cumulative lead dose and cognitive function in older adults.
Article in Epidemiology (Cambridge, Mass.), 2009. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 36 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
36 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Neurobehavioural effects of developmental toxicity.The Lancet. Neurology · 2014Pooled it
- Blood-Based Lead Biomarkers and Sarcopenia Indicators in Older Adults.Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle · 2026Article
- Epidemiological Evidence on the Associations of Metal Exposure with Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias Among Elderly Women.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Review
- Racialized experience, biomarkers of lead exposure, and later-life cognition: a mediation analysis.American journal of epidemiology · 2025Article
- Associations of a toenail metal mixture with attention and memory in the Gulf long-term follow-up (GuLF) study.The Science of the total environment · 2024Article
- The interaction effect of metals exposure and dietary habit on cognitive function in Chinese older adult cohort.The journal of nutrition, health & aging · 2024Article
- Identifying and Responding to Lead in Drinking Water in a University Setting.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2024Article
- Lead exposure in childhood and historical land use: a geostatistical analysis of soil lead concentrations in South Philadelphia parks.Environmental monitoring and assessment · 2023Article
- Prediction of the Neurotoxic Potential of Chemicals Based on Modelling of Molecular Initiating Events Upstream of the Adverse Outcome Pathways of (Developmental) Neurotoxicity.International journal of molecular sciences · 2022Article
- Mixed metals exposure and cognitive function in Bangladeshi adolescents.Ecotoxicology and environmental safety · 2022Article
- Associations between Metal Exposures and Cognitive Function in American Older Adults.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Body iron and lead status in early childhood and its effects on development and cognition: a longitudinal study from urban Vellore.Public health nutrition · 2020Article
- The relationship between lead and cadmium levels and functional dependence among elderly participants.Environmental science and pollution research international · 2020Article
- Association between blood lead level and subsequent Alzheimer's disease mortality.Environmental epidemiology (Philadelphia, Pa.) · 2019Article
- Response to Letter From Fuller-Thomson "Might Lifetime Exposure to Lead Confound the Association between Hearing Impairment and Incident Dementia?"The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences · 2018Article
- Childhood Lead Exposure and Adult Neurodegenerative Disease.Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD · 2018Review
- Article
- DNA Damage, Copper and Lead Associates with Cognitive Function among Older Adults.The journal of nutrition, health & aging · 2017Article
- Associations of cumulative Pb exposure and longitudinal changes in Mini-Mental Status Exam scores, global cognition and domains of cognition: The VA Normative Aging Study.Environmental research · 2017Article
- Developmental lead exposure and lifespan alterations in epigenetic regulators and their correspondence to biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease.Alzheimer's & dementia (Amsterdam, Netherlands) · 2016Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThe current population of older Americans has accumulated substantial lifetime lead doses, which raises concern about the possibility of adverse cognitive outcomes. We evaluated whether cumulative lead dose from environmental exposures is associated with cognitive function and decline, and whether such effects are persistent, reversible, or progressive.
methodsWe used longitudinal linear modeling to evaluate associations of tibia lead concentration with cognitive function and decline in sociodemographically diverse, community-dwelling adults aged 50-70 years who were randomly selected from neighborhoods in Baltimore. Six summary measures of cognitive function were created from standard tests in the following domains: language, processing speed, eye-hand coordination, executive functioning, verbal memory and learning, and visual memory.
resultsThe mean (SD) tibia lead level was 18.8 (11.6) microg/g. In models adjusted for demographic characteristics, socioeconomic status (SES), and race/ethnicity, higher tibia lead was associated with a progressive decline in eye-hand coordination. Tibia lead was associated with persistently impaired cognitive function in all 6 domains, although these associations weakened after increasing covariate control. In fully adjusted stratified analysis among white persons, persistent effects were apparent in eye-hand coordination, executive functioning, and verbal memory and learning.
conclusionsThe study presents the strongest evidence to date of the effects of cumulative lead dose on adult cognitive function independent of SES. The study population was relatively young and the average total duration of follow-up short (<30 months); these findings may represent the lower bound of the impact of cumulative lead dose on cognitive function of older adults.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.