Preprint / Version 1

Blood Lead Levels and Potential Risk Factors for Lead Exposures Among South Asians in New York City

Authors

  • Paromita Hore Bureau of Environmental Disease and Injury Prevention, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, 125 Worth Street, CN34C, New York, NY USA
  • Munerah Ahmed Bureau of Environmental Disease and Injury Prevention, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, 125 Worth Street, CN34C, New York, NY USA
  • Slavenka Sedlar Bureau of Environmental Disease and Injury Prevention, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, 125 Worth Street, CN34C, New York, NY USA
  • Robert Saper Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA USA
  • Deborah Nagin Bureau of Environmental Disease and Injury Prevention, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, 125 Worth Street, CN34C, New York, NY USA
  • Nancy Clark Bureau of Environmental Disease and Injury Prevention, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, 125 Worth Street, CN34C, New York, NY USA

Keywords:

Lead poisoning, South Asian, Ethnic disparities, Risk assessment, Biomonitoring

Abstract

New York City’s South Asian children and pregnant women have a disproportionate burden of elevated blood lead levels. This study is the first to investigate blood lead levels and risk factors for lead exposures among South Asian New Yorkers. A survey and a finger-stick blood lead test using a portable analyzer were administered to 230 South Asian adults and children. Blood lead levels of 5 µg/dL or higher were found in 20 % of the adults and 15 % of the children, as compared to 5 % of adults and 2.5 % of children citywide. Factors associated with elevated blood lead levels were recent repair work at home, not speaking English, Bangladeshi or Indian ethnicity, and occupational risk factors. Public health professional should be aware that South Asians may be at an increased risk for elevated blood lead levels. Keywords: Lead poisoning, South Asian, Ethnic disparities, Risk assessment, Biomonitoring

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