International Journal of Child Development and Mental Health (Dec 2023)
Blood Lead Levels And Its Effects On Different Domains Of Development In Children With Global Developmental Delay. Effects of Blood Lead Level in Children with Global Developmental Delay
Abstract
Early development of a child results from a unique interplay between internal constitutional factors and external environmental exposures. Lead is a potential neurotoxin that can affect child development in various domains. Objectives: To estimate the blood lead levels (BLL) and its effects on different domains of development in children with global developmental delay. Methods: Cross-sectional study conducted in Paediatric OPD and DEIC of a tertiary care hospital among children with GDD aged 6-60 months. The developmental assessment between 6 to 42 months of age was done by using the Bayley-III Screening Test. For children above 42 months, development quotient (DQ) was derived in various domains Results: More than half (53%) of children had elevated BLL. Regular application of kohl and use of folk/ herbal medicine were identified as significant risk factors. Around 82% of children had development in the risk category for cognitive, communication, gross motor and fine motor domains. Increase in severity of developmental delay in all domains was associated with an increase in BLL and these negative correlations reached statistically significant levels in receptive communication (ρ=-0.24, P=0.03) and expressive communication domains (ρ=-0.21, P=0.05). Conclusions: Lead is a potential neurotoxin and its effects are more on the developing nervous system of children. A positive association between BLL and various domains of childhood development particularly in receptive and expressive communication domains was noted. For countries like ours which are rapidly undergoing industrialisation, the potential sources of lead exposure need to be identified promptly and swift action to tackle this is strongly needed.
