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7126441 
Journal Article 
Association between blood lead levels and blood pressure in American adults: Results from NHANES 1999-2016 
Teye, SO; Yanosky, JD; Cuffee, Y; Weng, X; Luquis, R; Farace, E; Wang, Li 
2020 
Yes 
Environmental Science and Pollution Research
ISSN: 0944-1344
EISSN: 1614-7499 
27 
36 
45836-45843 
English 
32803607 
WOS:000559954200003 
The aim of this study was to investigate the association between blood lead level (BLL) and hypertension in adults when lead exposure for the general population is low. The study used data from the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 1999-2016. Participants aged 20 to 79 years were included in our study. Weighted multiple linear regression and logistic regression were conducted to test the association between BLL and systolic/diastolic blood pressure and hypertension status, respectively, while controlling for age, gender, race/ethnicity, body mass index, income level, and education. A total of 30,467 participants were included in this study. There was no association between BLL and hypertension status for the overall sample. Among those who were not taking antihypertensive medication, after adjusting for covariates, systolic blood pressure was positively correlated with BLL in non-Hispanic Whites (P = 0.004) and non-Hispanic Blacks (P = 0.0005), but not Hispanics (P = 0.07) nor Others (P = 0.37). The relationship between diastolic blood pressure and lead levels was also significant in non-Hispanic Whites and non-Hispanic Blacks. This study showed that higher BLL was associated with higher systolic and diastolic blood pressure in some population groups, but not associated with hypertension status. 
blood lead; NHANES; lead exposure; hypertension; high blood pressure; race factor