ArticleJournal of communication disorders
Blood lead levels and longitudinal language outcomes in children from 4 to 12 years.
Article in Journal of communication disorders. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
What it found
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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
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 12 citations in OpenAlex.
- Fatty acid ethyl esters in meconium and language development at 10 and 12 years.Pediatric research · 2026Article
- Remediation options to reduce bioaccessible and bioavailable lead and arsenic at a smelter impacted site - consideration of treatment efficacy.Environmental pollution (Barking, Essex : 1987) · 2024Article
- Lead Exposure Can Affect Early Childhood Development and Could Be Aggravated by Stunted Growth: Perspectives from Mexico.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- Preschool blood lead levels, language competency, and substance use in adolescence.Environmental research · 2022Article
- Nail Samples of Children Living near Coal Ash Storage Facilities Suggest Fly Ash Exposure and Elevated Concentrations of Metal(loid)s.Environmental science & technology · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectivesIn this study, the authors aimed to examine the association of a range of blood lead levels on language skills assessed at 4, 6, 10 and 12 years of age using a prospective longitudinal design controlling for potential confounding variables including maternal vocabulary, caregiver's psychological distress and symptomatology, child's race and prenatal drug exposure.
methodsThe participants (N = 278) were a subsample of a large longitudinal study that examined the association of prenatal drug exposure on children who were followed prospectively from birth and assessed for receptive and expressive language skills at 4, 6, 10 and 12 years of age. Blood lead levels were determined at 4-years of age by atomic absorption spectrometry. A mixed model approach with restricted maximum likelihood procedures was used to assess the association of lead on language outcomes.
resultsLongitudinal mixed model analyses suggested a negative effect of lead exposure on both receptive and expressive language, with the adverse outcomes of lead exposure appearing to become more prominent at 10 and 12 years. Higher caregiver vocabulary was positively associated with child's language scores whereas caregiver psychological distress appeared to negatively affect language scores. Prenatal drug exposure was not related to the effects of lead on language skills.
conclusionsThese findings suggest that elevated blood lead levels occurring early in life may be associated with poorer language skills at older ages. A language rich environment may minimize the negative influence of early lead exposure on language skills, with psychological distress seemingly exacerbating the negative outcome.
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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.