ArticleEnvironmental research2013
Lead, mercury, and cadmium exposure and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children.
Article in Environmental research, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 52 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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Who cites it
52 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 143 citations in OpenAlex.
- Association between heavy metals exposure and risk of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children: a systematic review and meta-analysis.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2025Pooled it
- Exploring the link between toxic metal exposure and ADHD: a systematic review of pb and hg.Journal of neurodevelopmental disorders · 2024Pooled it
- The Association between Lead and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2019Pooled it
- Social determinants impact both viral infections and brain development.Pediatric research · 2025Review
- Exposure to heavy metals and neuropsychological performance in children with and without attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Association between some environmental risk factors and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder among children in Egypt: a case-control study.Italian journal of pediatrics · 2025Article
- Effects of Blood Lead Levels <10 µg/dL in School-Age Children and Adolescents: A Scoping Review.Pediatrics · 2024Article
- Prenatal Tobacco Exposure and Behavioral Disorders in Children and Adolescents: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Pediatric reports · 2024Review
- Early childhood exposure to environmental phenols and parabens, phthalates, organophosphate pesticides, and trace elements in association with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms in the CHARGE study.Environmental health : a global access science source · 2024Article
- Heavy Metal and Thiol/Disulfide in Children with Attention-Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder.Psychiatry and clinical psychopharmacology · 2024Article
- An Industry-Relevant Metal Mixture, Iron Status, and Reported Attention-Related Behaviors in Italian Adolescents.Environmental health perspectives · 2024Article
- Heavy metal contamination in duck eggs from a mercury mining area, southwestern China.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- Environmental pollution and extreme weather conditions: insights into the effect on mental health.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2024Review
- Early-Life Lead Exposure: Risks and Neurotoxic Consequences.Current medicinal chemistry · 2024Review
- Examining the effects of cumulative environmental stressors on Gulf Coast child and adolescent health.Population and environment · 2023Article
- Disparities in Toxic Chemical Exposures and Associated Neurodevelopmental Outcomes: A Scoping Review and Systematic Evidence Map of the Epidemiological Literature.Environmental health perspectives · 2023Article
- Quantitative Proteomic Analysis of Cyanide and Mercury Detoxification by Pseudomonas pseudoalcaligenes CECT 5344.Microbiology spectrum · 2023Article
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- Sex-specific neurotoxic effects of heavy metal pollutants: Epidemiological, experimental evidence and candidate mechanisms.Environmental research · 2021Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThere is limited research examining the relationship between lead (Pb) exposure and medically diagnosed attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children. The role of mercury (Hg) and cadmium (Cd) exposures in ADHD development is even less clear.
objectivesTo examine the relationship between Pb, Hg, and Cd and ADHD in children living inside and outside a Lead Investigation Area (LIA) of a former lead refinery in Omaha, NE.
methodsWe carried out a case-control study with 71 currently medically diagnosed ADHD cases and 58 controls from a psychiatric clinic and a pediatric clinic inside and outside of the LIA. The participants were matched on age group (5-8, 9-12 years), sex, race (African American or Caucasians and others), and location (inside or outside LIA). We measured whole blood Pb, total Hg, and Cd using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry.
resultsInside the LIA, the 27 cases had blood Pb geometric mean (GM) 1.89 µg/dL and the 41 controls had 1.51 µg/dL. Outside the LIA, the 44 cases had blood Pb GM 1.02 µg/dL while the 17 controls had 0.97 µg/dL. After adjustment for matching variables and maternal smoking, socioeconomic status, and environmental tobacco exposure, each natural log unit blood Pb had an odds ratio of 2.52 with 95% confidence interval of 1.07-5.92. Stratification by the LIA indicated similar point estimate but wider CIs. No associations were observed for Hg or Cd.
conclusionsPostnatal Pb exposure may be associated with higher risk of clinical ADHD, but not the postnatal exposure to Hg or Cd.
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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.