Lee Mark, Lee Haena, Warren John Robert, Herd Pamela
Minnesota Population Center, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
Department of Sociology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
SSM Popul Health. 2022 Jan 28;17:101037. doi: 10.1016/j.ssmph.2022.101037. eCollection 2022 Mar.
Lead exposure negatively affects cognitive functioning among children. However, there is limited evidence about whether exposure to lead in early life impairs later life cognitive functioning.
Participants in the prospective Wisconsin Longitudinal Study cohort (N = 8583) were linked to the 1940 Census, which was taken when they were young children. We estimated the effect of living near a lead mine in childhood on late life memory/attention and language/executive function in 2004 (mean age 64) and 2011 (mean age 71).
Lead-exposed children had significantly steeper memory/attention decline between 2004 and 2011 and worse language/executive function at baseline in late life. These long-term effects of lead were not mediated through adolescent IQ or late life SES and health factors.
Proximity to lead mining in childhood had long-term effects on late life memory/attention decline and language/executive function, reflecting a possible latent influence of lead exposure. More research is needed to understand behavioral and biological pathways underlying this relationship.
铅暴露会对儿童的认知功能产生负面影响。然而，关于早年接触铅是否会损害晚年认知功能的证据有限。
前瞻性威斯康星纵向研究队列中的参与者（N = 8583）与1940年人口普查数据相关联，该普查是在他们年幼时进行的。我们估计了儿童时期居住在铅矿附近对2004年（平均年龄64岁）和2011年（平均年龄71岁）晚年记忆/注意力以及语言/执行功能的影响。
接触铅的儿童在2004年至2011年间记忆/注意力下降明显更陡，且晚年基线时语言/执行功能更差。铅的这些长期影响并非通过青少年智商或晚年社会经济地位及健康因素介导。
儿童时期接近铅矿开采对晚年记忆/注意力下降和语言/执行功能有长期影响，这反映了铅暴露可能存在的潜在影响。需要更多研究来了解这种关系背后的行为和生物学途径。
