Age and secular trends in bone lead levels in middle-aged and elderly men: Three-year longitudinal follow-up in the Normative Aging Study

Kim, R; Landrigan, C; Mossmann, P; Sparrow, D; Hu, H

HERO ID

89323

Reference Type

Journal Article

Year

1997

HERO ID 89323
In Press No
Year 1997
Title Age and secular trends in bone lead levels in middle-aged and elderly men: Three-year longitudinal follow-up in the Normative Aging Study
Authors Kim, R; Landrigan, C; Mossmann, P; Sparrow, D; Hu, H
Journal American Journal of Epidemiology
Volume 146
Issue 7
Page Numbers 586-591
Abstract The goal of this study was to examine age and secular trends in bone and blood lead levels of community-exposed men. Bone and blood lead levels were measured twice, with a 3-year interval between measurements, among participants in a longitudinal study of aging. Seventy subjects (mean age = 66 years, age range = 52-83 years) with repeated measurements of bone and blood lead levels were studied. At the first evaluation, geometric mean lead levels in patella, tibia, and blood were 29.1 (standard deviation (SD) 1.8) microg/g, 17.5 (SD 2.0) microg/g, and 6.7 (SD 1.8) microg/dl, respectively. At the second evaluation, these levels were 22.2 (SD 1.8) microg/g, 17.9 (SD 1.7) microg/g, and 5.1 (SD 1.4) microg/dl, respectively. Cross-sectional analysis of each set of measurements indicated that, on average, a 1-year-older individual would have 2.7% and 2.4-3.2% higher levels of lead in patella and tibia, respectively. In contrast to the increasing age trend in cross-sectional analysis, the secular trend over time was decreasing for patella lead levels and stable for tibia lead levels. The authors conclude that in community-exposed middle-aged and elderly men, the biomarkers of exposure to lead are decreasing in patella and blood and unchanging in tibia as of the early 1990s. The increasing age trend in bone lead levels in cross-sectional studies should be carefully interpreted in light of the birth cohort effect.
Wosid WOS:A1997XZ75200008
Url http://aje.oxfordjournals.org/content/146/7/586.short
Is Certified Translation No
Dupe Override No
Comments ECRIB.
Is Public Yes
Keyword bone and bones; environmental exposure; lead; longitudinal studies
Is Qa No