A new study published in Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry estimated that millions of Americans are dealing with mental disorders related to childhood exposure to lead – through the exhaust fumes of cars that run on leaded gasoline.
Researchers found that people born between 1966 and 1986.Generation X— were most exposed to lead because they were children during the peak of leaded gasoline use. They also experienced the greatest growth mental illness symptoms, according to the study.
A study by Aaron Reuben, a doctoral candidate in neuropsychology at Duke University, and his colleagues Michael McFarland and Matthew Hauer of Florida State University, claims that more than half of the current US population has been exposed to “neurotoxic levels” of lead through its use in gasoline.
Lead was first added to gasoline in 1927 to keep automobile engines healthy; its use was phased out from the market starting in the 1970s due to health and environmental concerns, and was stopped entirely in 1996.
To find out the effect of exposure to fumes containing lead mental healthresearchers combined blood lead data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) with historical data on lead gasoline to estimate blood lead levels in children from 1940 to 2015. They then calculated the increase in the population of mental health symptoms known to be associated with lead exposure by calculating a “mental illness score.”
“This is the exact approach we’ve used in the past to assess the effects of lead on population cognitive ability and IQ,” McFarland said. Science Daily, noting that the research team previously determined that lead lowered the IQ of the US population by 824 million over the past century.
Their latest research suggests that 151 million cases of mental disorders, including depression, anxiety and hyperactivity, over the past 75 years can be linked to childhood lead exposure.
“We’ve seen very significant changes in the mental health of generations of Americans,” Hauer said Science Daily. “This means that many more people will experience psychiatric problems than if we had never added lead to gasoline.”
However, the researchers note that this study does not prove a causal relationship. They also note that this is based only on exposure to leaded gasoline, without taking into account other exposures to lead in lead pipes, contaminated food and soil, or airborne dust from lead-emitting industries, waste incineration, and lead recycling.
How does lead affect the brain?
Lead exposure is most dangerous for children and can be especially devastating to brain development at an early age, researchers explained in the study. They noted that childhood exposure to lead can lead to reduced cognitive abilities, fine motor skills and emotional regulation abilities.
Many other studies The researchers write that they link childhood lead exposure to mental health disorders, including depression and anxiety, and personality changes which lead to neuroticism and reduced impulse control.
According to Mayo, even small amounts of lead can cause serious health problems Clinic. Children under the age of 6 are particularly vulnerable to lead exposure, which can cause developmental delays, learning difficulties and irritability, among other symptoms in children and infants, from lethargy and vomiting to hearing loss and seizures.
Babies exposed to lead before birth can be born prematurely, have lower birth weights and stunted growth, while adults can experience high blood pressure, joint and muscle pain, memory problems, headaches, mood disorders, decreased sperm count and miscarriages or stillbirths as a result of lead poisoning.
“Humans are not adapted to being exposed to lead at the levels we’ve been exposed to over the last century,” Reuben said. Science Daily. “We have very few effective measures to deal with lead entering the body, and many of us have been exposed to 1,000 to 10,000 times the natural level.”
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