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Environmental lead exposure is associated with visit-to-visit systolic blood pressure variability in the US adults

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Abstract

Purpose

The association between environmental lead exposure and blood pressure variability, an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease, is unexplored and unknown. The objective of the study was to test the hypothesis that lead exposure is associated with blood pressure variability.

Methods

American participants 17 years of age or older from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III were included in the analysis. Participants’ blood lead concentrations expressed as micrograms per deciliter were determined. The standard deviations of visit-to-visit systolic and diastolic blood pressure were calculated to determine blood pressure variability. Multivariable regression analyses adjusted for age, gender, race, smoking and socioeconomic status were employed.

Results

The participants’ mean age and mean blood lead concentration were 42.72 years and 3.44 mcg/dl, respectively. Systolic blood pressure variability was significantly associated with environmental lead exposure after adjusting for the effect of the confounders. The unadjusted and adjusted means of visit-to-visit systolic blood pressure variability and the β coefficient of lead exposure were 3.44, 3.33 mcg/dl, β coefficient = 0.07, P < 0.01.

Conclusions

This study documents a positive linear relationship between environmental lead exposure and systolic blood pressure variability. Screening adults with fluctuating blood pressure for lead exposure could be warranted.

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Acknowledgments

The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the US Environmental Protection Agency.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Epidemiology, College of Public Health, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, 77205, USA

    Mohammed F. Faramawi, Robert Delongchamp, Lori Fischbach & Supriya Jadhav

  2. Department of Public Health, National Liver Institute, Menofiya University, Cairo, Egypt

    Mohammed F. Faramawi

  3. National Center for Environmental Assessment, Office of Research and Development, US Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, USA

    Yu-Sheng Lin

  4. Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, TX, USA

    Yu-Sheng Lin & Youcheng Liu

  5. Clinical and Translational Research Institute, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, USA

    Saly Abouelenien

Authors
  1. Mohammed F. Faramawi
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  2. Robert Delongchamp
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  3. Yu-Sheng Lin
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  4. Youcheng Liu
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  5. Saly Abouelenien
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  6. Lori Fischbach
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  7. Supriya Jadhav
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Correspondence to Mohammed F. Faramawi.

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Faramawi, M.F., Delongchamp, R., Lin, YS. et al. Environmental lead exposure is associated with visit-to-visit systolic blood pressure variability in the US adults. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 88, 381–388 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-014-0970-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-014-0970-5

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