Elevated Blood Lead Levels in Infants and Mothers in Benin and Potential Sources of Exposure

Florence Bodeau-Livinec (1, 2, 3, 4) , Philippe Glorennec (5, 4) , Michel Cot (6, 5) , Pierre Dumas (7) , Séverine Durand (5) , Achille Massougbodji (8, 4) , Pierre Ayotte (9, 10) , Barbara Le Bot (5)

1 CRESS - U1153 - Equipe 1 : EPOPé - Épidémiologie Obstétricale, Périnatale et Pédiatrique
2 METIS - Département Méthodes quantitatives en santé publique
3 DHU Risques Et Grossesse
4 EHESP - École des Hautes Études en Santé Publique [EHESP]
5 Irset - Institut de recherche en santé, environnement et travail
6 MERIT - UMR_D 216 - Mère et enfant en milieu tropical : pathogènes, système de santé et transition épidémiologique
7 Institut Hospitalier J. Cartier
8 UAC - Université d’Abomey-Calavi = University of Abomey Calavi
9 DMPS - Département de médecine sociale et préventive
10 Direction de la Santé Environnementale et de la Toxicologie

Lead in childhood is well known to be associated with poor neurodevelopment. As part of a study on maternal anemia and offspring neurodevelopment, we analyzed blood lead level (BLL) with no prior knowledge of lead exposure in 225 mothers and 685 offspring 1 to 2 years old from Allada, a semi-rural area in Benin, sub-Saharan Africa, between May 2011 and May 2013. Blood samples were analyzed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Environmental assessments in households and isotopic ratio measurements were performed for eight children with BLL \textgreater 100 µg/L. High lead levels (BLL \textgreater 50 µg/L) were found in 44% of mothers and 58% of children. The median BLL was 55.1 (interquartile range 39.2-85.0) and 46.6 (36.5-60.1) µg/L, respectively. Maternal BLL was associated with offspring's consumption of piped water and animals killed by ammunition. Children's BLL was associated with presence of paint chips in the house and consumption of animals killed by ammunition. In this population, with 98% of children still breastfed, children's BLL was highly associated with maternal BLL on multivariate analyses. Environmental measures and isotopic ratios supported these findings. Offspring may be highly exposed to lead in utero and probably via breastfeeding in addition to lead paint exposure

Keywords: Sub-Saharan Africa; Sources; Child; Benin; Lead Isotopic Ratios; Lead exposure

Domains: Life Sciences [q-bio]; Santé publique et épidémiologie; Life Sciences [q-bio]; Ecology, environment; Health

Florence Bodeau-Livinec, Philippe Glorennec, Michel Cot, Pierre Dumas, Séverine Durand, et al.. Elevated Blood Lead Levels in Infants and Mothers in Benin and Potential Sources of Exposure. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2016, 13 (3), pp.316. ⟨10.3390/ijerph13030316⟩. ⟨hal-01296778⟩