Environment & Health Research Unit, Medical Research Council (MRC), South Africa; MRC/Wits Developmental Pathways for Health Research Unit, Department of Paediatrics, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Environment & Health Research Unit, Medical Research Council (MRC), South Africa; School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; Environmental Health Department, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Johannesburg, South Africa.
Sci Total Environ. 2018 Jan 15;612:472-479. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.08.138. Epub 2017 Sep 1.
Chronic lead exposure is associated with neurological ill-health including anti-social behavior such as aggressive behavior. The main aim of this study was to examine the association between lead exposure at 13years old and dimensions of aggressive behavior during mid-adolescence. The study sample included 508 males and 578 females in mid-adolescence (age 14 to 15years) from the Birth to Twenty Plus cohort in Johannesburg, South Africa. Blood samples collected at age 13years were used to measure blood lead levels. Seventeen items characterizing aggression from the Youth Self Report questionnaire were used to examine aggressive behavior. Principal Component Analysis was used to derive composite variables from the original data for aggressive behavior; and data were examined for an association between blood lead levels and dimensionality of direct and indirect aggression and disobedience during mid-adolescence. We also examined the dimensions of aggression during mid-adolescence in relation to gender and socio-demographic factors. Blood lead levels ranged from 1 to 28.1μg/dL. Seventy two percent of males and 47.7% of females in the study had blood lead levels ≥5μg/dL. There was a positive association between elevated blood lead levels and direct aggression (p<0.05). Being male was positively associated with direct aggression (p<0.001) but, negatively associated with indirect aggression (p<0.001). Maternal education and age at birth were negatively associated with direct aggression during mid-adolescence. The significant association between elevated blood lead levels and direct aggressive behavior observed in this study may shed light on a possible environmental toxicological contribution to aggressive behavior in South African youth; and most importantly the type of aggressive behavior associated to lead exposure.
慢性铅暴露与神经健康不良有关，包括攻击性行为等反社会行为。本研究的主要目的是检验 13 岁时的铅暴露与青少年中期攻击行为的各个维度之间的关联。研究样本包括南非约翰内斯堡出生到二十多岁队列的 508 名男性和 578 名女性青少年（14 至 15 岁）。在 13 岁时采集的血液样本用于测量血铅水平。采用来自青少年自我报告问卷的 17 项特征性攻击行为的条目来评估攻击行为。采用主成分分析从原始数据中得出攻击行为的综合变量；并检查血铅水平与青少年中期直接和间接攻击行为以及不服从行为的维度之间的关联。我们还检查了与性别和社会人口因素有关的青少年中期攻击行为的维度。血铅水平范围为 1 至 28.1μg/dL。研究中有 72%的男性和 47.7%的女性血铅水平≥5μg/dL。血铅水平升高与直接攻击行为呈正相关（p<0.05）。男性与直接攻击行为呈正相关（p<0.001），但与间接攻击行为呈负相关（p<0.001）。母亲的教育程度和出生年龄与青少年中期的直接攻击行为呈负相关。本研究中观察到的血铅水平升高与直接攻击行为之间的显著关联可能揭示了环境毒理学对南非青年攻击行为的可能贡献；以及与铅暴露相关的攻击行为类型。
