ArticleNeurotoxicology and teratology
Developmental lead exposure and adult criminal behavior: A 30-year prospective birth cohort study.
Article in Neurotoxicology and teratology. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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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
10 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 27 citations in OpenAlex.
- Lead exposure and antisocial behavior: A systematic review of human and animal evidence.Environment international · 2025Pooled it
- Association between potential lead exposure assessed using a screening questionnaire and aggressive behaviour among adolescents in Jakarta, Indonesia: a cross-sectional study.BMJ public health · 2026Article
- Alcohol Consumption, Blood Lead Levels and Aggressive Behaviour Among Adults Living Near Gold Mine Tailings in Gauteng, South Africa.Exposure and health · 2026Article
- Increased MCHC*RDW-SD interaction values: indicators of neurological impairment in lead-poisoned children.PeerJ · 2024Article
- Disparities in Toxic Chemical Exposures and Associated Neurodevelopmental Outcomes: A Scoping Review and Systematic Evidence Map of the Epidemiological Literature.Environmental health perspectives · 2023Article
- The association between lead exposure and crime: A systematic review.PLOS global public health · 2023Article
- Lead exposure and antisocial behavior: A systematic review protocol.Environment international · 2022Article
- Pediatric Exposures to Neurotoxicants: A Review of Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Spectroscopy Findings.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Review
- Criminal arrests associated with reduced regional brain volumes in an adult population with documented childhood lead exposure.Environmental research · 2021Article
- Lead Poisoning among Male Juveniles Due to Illegal Mining: A Case Series from South Africa.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Using a variety of research designs and measures of lead absorption, numerous studies link childhood lead exposure to a range of cognitive and behavioral deficits, including low IQ, impulsivity, juvenile delinquency, and criminal behavior in adolescence and early adulthood. In this study, we tested the association between multiple measures of blood lead concentration assessed in childhood with criminal behavior in adulthood and across the life-course. Prospective data from the Cincinnati Lead Study (CLS) included blood lead measures quarterly across the first 78 months of life and the number of times a person was arrested across the life-course (from age 18 to 33 years) and in later adulthood (age 27 to 33 years). Childhood blood lead concentration prospectively predicted variation in adult arrests and arrests over the life-course, indicating lead absorption is implicated in the etiology of crime-especially in geographic areas where environmental sources of lead are more prevalent and concentrated. Efforts to decrease lead exposure in both developed and developing countries should be part of a comprehensive strategy to reduce social dislocation and crime.
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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.