Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31808705›Full record

ArticleEnvironmental health perspectives2019

Blood Lead Levels and Risk of Atherosclerosis in the Carotid Artery: Results from a Swedish Cohort.

Florencia Harari, Lars Barregard, Gerd Östling, Gerd Sallsten, Bo Hedblad, Niklas Forsgard, Yan Borné, Björn Fagerberg, Gunnar Engström

Open access · diamondAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Environmental health perspectives, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 38 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
38citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
2.0field-weighted citation impact, top 15% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

38 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 56 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  7. Evidence for Genotype-Specific Optimal Blood Lead Levels for Cancer Risk:International journal of molecular sciences · 2026
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  19. Observational
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Florencia HarariOccupational and Environmental Medicine, Sahlgrenska University Hospital and University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Lars BarregardOccupational and Environmental Medicine, Sahlgrenska University Hospital and University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Gerd ÖstlingDepartment of Clinical Sciences in Malmö, CRC, Lund University and Skåne University Hospital, Malmö, Sweden.
Gerd SallstenOccupational and Environmental Medicine, Sahlgrenska University Hospital and University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Bo HedbladDepartment of Clinical Sciences in Malmö, CRC, Lund University and Skåne University Hospital, Malmö, Sweden.
Niklas ForsgardDepartment of Clinical Chemistry, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Yan BornéDepartment of Clinical Sciences in Malmö, CRC, Lund University and Skåne University Hospital, Malmö, Sweden.
Björn FagerbergDepartment of Molecular and Clinical Medicine, Wallenberg Laboratory for Cardiovascular and Metabolic Research, University of Gothenburg and Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Gunnar EngströmDepartment of Clinical Sciences in Malmö, CRC, Lund University and Skåne University Hospital, Malmö, Sweden.
Sahlgrenska University Hospital · SELund University · SE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundLead exposure has been associated with increased incidence of adverse clinical cardiovascular outcomes. Atherosclerosis has been suggested as one of the underlying mechanisms, and findings from experimental studies support this, but human data are scarce.

objectivesOur objective was to determine the association between environmental lead exposure based on blood lead (B-Pb) concentrations and the prevalence of atherosclerotic plaque in the carotid artery.

methodsWe used cross-sectional data from the Malmö Diet and Cancer Study cardiovascular cohort (MDCS-CC; recruitment in 1991-1994) covering 4,172 middle-aged men and women. B-Pb at baseline, measured by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, was used as the exposure biomarker. The presence of atherosclerotic plaque in the carotid artery was determined by B-mode ultrasonography. We used logistic regression to estimate odds ratios (ORs) for prevalence of plaque in the carotid artery according to B-Pb quartiles.

resultsThe median B-Pb was DISCUSSION: Our study shows an association between B-Pb concentrations and occurrence of atherosclerotic plaque in the carotid artery, adding evidence for an underlying pro-atherogenic role of lead in cardiovascular disease. Associations appeared to be limited to postmenopausal (vs. premenopausal) women. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP5057.

Indexed as

Carotid ArteriesAtherosclerosisEnvironmental ExposureEnvironmental PollutantsLeadSwedenEnvironmental PollutantsLead

Identifiers

PMID31808705
PMCPMC6957277
OpenAlexW2993022359

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.