Lead Exposure Responsible for 400,000 Adult Deaths Annually in U.S.

By Kelly Young

Edited by David G. Fairchild, MD, MPH, and Jaye Elizabeth Hefner, MD

Over 400,000 deaths every year in the U.S. are related to lead exposure, making it on par with the threat from current tobacco use, according to new estimates in the Lancet Public Health. Previous mortality estimates were about 10 times lower.

Using data from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, researchers examined blood lead levels from 14,000 adults between 1988 and 1994 and followed the cohort for a median of 19 years.

After multivariable adjustment, baseline blood lead levels at the 90th percentile (6.7 µg/dL) were associated with higher risks for all-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease mortality, and ischemic heart disease mortality, compared with levels at the 10th percentile (1.0 µg/dL). If blood lead levels were reduced to 1.0 µg/dL or lower, the authors estimate that the rates of all-cause mortality could drop 18% (or 412,000 deaths annually), CVD deaths could fall 29% (256,000 deaths), and ischemic heart disease deaths, 37% (185,000 deaths).

The authors conclude: "A comprehensive strategy to prevent deaths from cardiovascular disease should include efforts to reduce lead exposure."