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Determinants of childhood lead exposure in the postleaded petrol era: The Tooth Fairy cohort from Newcastle upon Tyne

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Abstract

Lead is an environmental contaminant causing irreversible health effects in children. We used dentine lead levels as a measure of early-life lead exposure and explored determinants of lead exposure in children living in Newcastle upon Tyne, a historically industrialised UK city, in a cohort born since legislation was introduced to remove lead from petrol, paint and water pipes. The “Tooth Fairy study” cohort comprised 69 children aged 5–8 years. We collected upper deciduous incisors from children and questionnaire data from their parents in 2005. We measured lead levels in pre- and postnatal enamel and dentine using laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, and assessed associations between dentine lead levels and residential, dietary, lifestyle and socio-economic characteristics. Dentine lead levels were low (mean 0.26 μg/g, range 0.06–0.77); however, we observed considerable variability in dentine lead levels within and between children suggestive of differing exposure levels and/or exposure sources across this population. Variables earlier documented to be associated with childhood lead levels were not found to be significant determinants of dentine lead levels in this study. Exposure pathways should continue to be investigated to enable targeted interventions and prevention of lead-induced health impacts in vulnerable populations.

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Acknowledgements

This work formed part of Charuwan Manmee's PhD project, which was funded by the Department of Medical Services, Ministry of Public Health, Thailand. The original Tooth Fairy project was led by Kate Vizard, and supported by a grant from the Department of Health. We would like to acknowledge the contributions of Pam Walton for preparing the tooth samples. We thank David Banks and Linda Forbes (Laser Ablation ICP-MS Facility, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK) for their technical support and expertise, without which the analytical data for this study could not have been obtained.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Health and Society, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK

    Susan Hodgson, Charuwan Manmee & Tanja Pless-Mulloli

  2. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, MRC-PHE Centre for Environment and Health, Imperial College London, London, UK

    Susan Hodgson

  3. Department of Academic Support, Rajavithi Hospital, Bangkok, Thailand

    Charuwan Manmee

  4. Centre for Oral Health Research, School of Dental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK

    Wendy Dirks

  5. Department of Anthropology, Durham University, Durham, UK

    Wendy Dirks

  6. School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK

    Thomas Shepherd

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  1. Susan Hodgson
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  2. Charuwan Manmee
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  3. Wendy Dirks
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  4. Thomas Shepherd
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  5. Tanja Pless-Mulloli
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Correspondence to Susan Hodgson.

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Hodgson, S., Manmee, C., Dirks, W. et al. Determinants of childhood lead exposure in the postleaded petrol era: The Tooth Fairy cohort from Newcastle upon Tyne. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 25, 420–426 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/jes.2014.79

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