UW-Madison study links lead exposure to lower test scores
Lead exposure may be linked to lower test scores among Wisconsin fourth graders, and exposure rates among African-American and Hispanic children are roughly double those of white children, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Researchers matched medical records of children who had been tested for lead exposure with their school records.
Even after controlling for differences in test scores due to poverty, gender, English proficiency and other factors, children who had been exposed to lead scored lower on each subject of the fourth grade Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Exam (WKCE), which measures student competence in reading, math and other basic subjects, according to a news release from the university.
Contaminated dust from paint in older homes is the most common source of lead exposure.
"What we find is that even low amounts of lead exposure during early development have direct, measurable, negative consequences for children's school performance later in life," said Mike Amato, a doctoral candidate in psychology and environmental studies and one of the authors of the study, recently published in the journal Annals of Epidemiology.
The study included students in Milwaukee Public Schools, and was coordinated by researchers at UW-Madison and the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. The study found that environmental lead exposure poses a significant challenge to schools striving to meet WKCE standards.
"There's a lot of discussion about what schools should do to increase educational proficiency," said Marty Kanarek, a professor of population health sciences affiliated with the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies at UW-Madison. "It's a very complex issue with multiple causes, but lead exposure is part of the equation."
Children exposed to moderate amounts of lead often do not show immediate symptoms, according to Amato. However, the new study suggests that effects can last long after initial exposure and have a measurable impact on test scores.
The study also found that lead exposure rates among African-American and Hispanic children were roughly double those of white children. Lead exposure in children is a matter of social justice, Kanarek said.
For more information on childhood lead exposure and how to prevent it, Wisconsin residents should contact the Department of Health Services Wisconsin Healthy Homes and Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program at 608-266-5817 or visit www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/lead.
- UW virologist devises strategy for more accurate development of seasonal flu vaccine
- UCLA study offers promise for treating age-related memory loss
- Should doctors send condolence letters when their patients die?
- Cheese cheats beware
- Graduation speaker for MCW is director of National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute
- MCW wins $6.8 million grant from U.S. Army to analyze neck, spine and brain safety
- Authors Michael Orban and Andrew Jones to speak at UWM conference on veterans' health
- Poor countries likely to take brunt of climate change damage despite emitting least CO2
- MCW team finds "color-correcting glasses" don't work
- Prison populations can be reduced sharply without endangering public safety, new study says