Effects on the mental and motor abilities of children exposed to low levels of lead in Bratislava

A cross-sectional clinical evaluation was performed on 395 children aged 9-10 yr residing in Bratislava, Republic of Slovakia, to examine the potential adverse effects of low lead levels in blood (PbB) on neuromotor and cognitive performance. Eight clinical evaluations comprised of neuromotor (simple reaction time, Vienna, tapping test) and cognitive tests (Benton, Bender, Raven, and WISC1 and 2) were conducted. Whole blood lead levels served as the surrogate for lead body-burden levels. The mean PbB of the study population was 36.5 mu g/L (SD +/- 16.2). A statistically significant negative association between PbB and global intelligence (Raven, p < .001) visual short-term memory (Benton, p < .05), and activity evaluations by teachers and parents (p < .05) was observed in the study population. Eight covariates were included in a multivariate analysis to examine the confounding effects of socioeconomic factors on the PbB-test performance relationship. A highly significant negative association was observed between psychometric intelligence tests (WISC1 and 2, p < .0001).