ArticleJournal of exposure science & environmental epidemiology2023
Low level lead exposure in early childhood and parental education on adolescent IQ and working memory: a cohort study.
Article in Journal of exposure science & environmental epidemiology, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 2 of them syntheses 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
11 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 14 citations in OpenAlex.
- Quantifying uncertainty: a practical comparison of Bayesian and frequentist meta-analytic frameworks applied to lead exposure and children's IQ.BMC medical research methodology · 2026Pooled it
- Neurodevelopmental Outcomes Associated with Early-Life Exposure to Heavy Metals: A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Pooled it
- DNA Methylation ofEnvironment & health (Washington, D.C.) · 2026Article
- Bayesian Image Mediation Analysis.Journal of the American Statistical Association · 2026Article
- Toxic Metals in a Green Transition: Global Health Risks, Sources, and Policy Responses-Insights from the Munich Toxic Metals Symposium 2025.Annals of global health · 2026Review
- Cumulative childhood lead exposure estimation and school-age IQ in a prospective birth cohort.Environmental health : a global access science source · 2025Article
- Prenatal and childhood exposures to heavy metals and their associations with child cognition, motor skills, behaviour and mental health.Essays in biochemistry · 2025Review
- Childhood lead exposure and sleep problems in adolescents: a longitudinal cohort study.International archives of occupational and environmental health · 2024Article
- Effects of Blood Lead Levels <10 µg/dL in School-Age Children and Adolescents: A Scoping Review.Pediatrics · 2024Article
- Review
- Association between lower-level of environmental lead exposure and reactive and proactive aggression in youth: Sex differences.Journal of environmental science and health. Part C, Toxicology and carcinogenesis · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThe independent effect of lead exposure and parental education on children's neurocognition is well-documented. However, few studies have examined the combined effect of childhood lead exposure and parental education on adolescent neurocognition, especially in China.
objectiveExamine both the combined and interactive effect of childhood blood lead levels (BLLs) and parental education on early adolescent neurocognition.
methods417 children from a longitudinal cohort study in Jintan, China had BLLs measured at 3-5 years and 12 years, parental education levels assessed at 3-5 years, and neurocognitive outcomes tested at 12 years.
resultsBLLs at 3-5 years were inversely associated with adolescent IQ (β -0.55 95% CI: -0.97, -0.13) but not working memory (β -0.06 95% CI: -0.23, 0.11) and parental education was positively associated with adolescent IQ (β 0.68 95% CI: 0.19, 1.17) and working memory (β 0.24 95% CI: 0.04, 0.44). BLLs and parental education evidenced combined effects on neurocognition, where children with higher BLLs and lower fathers' education had mean IQ scores 7.84 (95% CI: -13.15, -2.53) points lower than children with lower BLLs and higher fathers' education. There were significant associations between parental education and working memory, however, not with BLLs. The interaction between mother and father high school education and BLLs was insignificant for effects on IQ and working memory. SIGNIFICANCE: Childhood lead exposure and parental education levels have a combined and long-term impact on IQ, evidence that may partially explain disparities in lead exposure associated outcomes and highlight those children at greatest risk for neurocognitive deficits. IMPACT STATEMENT: Children continue to be exposed to low-levels of environmental lead in China and globally, warranting examination of the impact of such exposures. This paper demonstrates that even relatively low-level lead exposure in early childhood significantly influences adolescent neurocognitive functioning. Furthermore, co-existing social determinant of health-related variables, measured here as parental education, have a combined impact on neurocognition. These results highlight children at greater risk for neurocognitive deficits and demonstrate the need to examine the influence of lead exposure within the broader socio- ecological environment, as these factors work in tandem to influence longer-term neurocognitive outcomes.
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.