Lead Exposure Might Cause More Deaths, IQ Loss Than Expected

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JAMA. 2023;330(14):1319. doi:10.1001/jama.2023.17824

Exposure to lead through sources such as contaminated food, soil, and paint might have contributed to 5.5 million adult cardiovascular disease deaths and 765 million lost IQ points among children younger than 5 years in 2019, according to a new analysis of countries’ blood lead level estimates.

Low- and middle-income countries combined bore up to 95% of the losses. Moreover, the estimated IQ loss and deaths from cardiovascular disease were about 80% higher and 6 times greater, respectively, than earlier approximations for low- and middle-income countries.

The results suggest that the magnitude of environmental risk from lead exposure is similar to that of fine-particulate air pollution and exceeds the risks associated with unsafe household drinking water, sanitation, and handwashing, the researchers reported in The Lancet Planetary Health.

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Published Online: September 20, 2023. doi:10.1001/jama.2023.17824