Childhood Blood Lead Levels

Click here to view the Louisiana Lead Campaign Flyer containing
management guidelines for follow-up blood lead screenings

Lead (Periodic Table Element: Pb) is a systemic poison if it enters the human body, even in minute quantities. It is harmful to every system in the human body. Luckily, in adults, much of the lead we are exposed to is excreted, although some may enter the blood stream or may be stored, for example, during periods of bone loss. Some forms of lead may be mistaken by the human body as calcium. The blood to brain barrier in adults is better formed than it is in children, which protects adults more from blood lead poisoning. Therefore, it is crucial to identify blood lead exposures early in children since lead can harm everything from their developing central nervous system and brain, to other important systems in early childhood development. Lead exposure in children is a serious health concern, with no level really being safe in the bloodstream. Researchers and health officials are continuing to study the health effects.

Human (adult) exposure to lead occurs through various means, such as exposure at work or through contact with leaded gasoline (diesel fuel), soil or leaded paint in older homes, (especially if built prior to 1978 or recently remodeled). Exposures in children are more likely to be through lead in paint or dust-including from paint removal and remediation (water blasting or sandblasting, which should not be done in older homes without proper precautions), lead in soil, or lead in food or the water supply, leached through metal pipes or fittings. Incinerators which were common in waste disposal, nearby industry pollution, certain agricultural pesticides, or open air burning of certain materials may have released legacy sources of lead- or even current sources- to air, soil, soil run-off and the water supply.

Older cities such as New Orleans, and rural infrastructure including water treatment and distribution systems may have lead pipes, fittings or service lines which could introduce lead hazards or exposures. This is also true for private wells and home plumbing.


To explore childhood blood lead levels data, click here.

 

Tracking Blood Lead Levels in Louisiana

The Health Data Explorer contains parish level information on childhood blood lead testing rates and levels of lead in blood samples, presented by birth cohort and annually. These measures currently refelct childhood blood lead testing resporting by health care providers received by LDH from 2011-2017.

 

Childhood Blood Lead data are reported through the Louisiana Department of Health, the Louisiana and Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program (LCLPPP).

 

The measures of the annual Blood Lead level included 4 measures.

For these measures, the total number and percent of children tested by state and parish:

The denominator for the other three measures is from the total number of children tested.

The measures for birth cohort also included 4 measures. For these measures, the total number and percent of children tested by state and parish:

Annual Blood Lead Levels:
Stratified into children 1) less than 3 years of age, 2) aged at least 3 years but less than 6 years of age, 3) less than 6 years of age.

 

Blood Lead Levels by Birth Cohort:
Children less than 3 years of age. Elevated cases calculated by birth cohort were calculated for each parish.

 

For both blood lead levels by birth cohort and annual blood lead levels measures, data reported are:

  1. Total number and percent of children tested by state and parish
  2. Number and percent of tests where blood lead levels were between 5 and 10 μg/dL (micrograms per deciliter) by state and parish
  3. Number and percent of confirmed tests where blood lead levels were higher than 10 μg/dL; these elevated measures are shown by state and parish.
  4. Number and percent of confirmed tests where lead levels were higher than 10 μg/dL by blood lead level category (10 - < 15 μg/dL, 15 - < 20 μg/dL, etc.); these measures are shown by state.

 

As of October 28, 2021, the CDC uses a blood lead reference value (BLRV) of 3.5μg/dL to identify children with blood lead levels that are highter than most children's levels. The BLRV at the time of our data was 5μg/dL, so the current data available on our data explorer reflects those values.  According to the US CDC, there is no safe health limit for childhood blood lead.

 

Please refer to Data Sources and Additional Information below to contact the LCLPPP program. For additional metadata information, please refer to the Childhood Blood Lead Info Tab or e-mail the LDH Tracking Program at tracking@la.gov.

 

Data Sources

Louisiana Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program (LCLPPP)

 

Additional Info

www.ldh.la.gov/lead

CDC Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention: Information For You

Housing and Urban Development - Protecting Kids from Lead Poisoning