TY - JOUR
T1 - Lead levels in primary teeth of children in Karachi
AU - Rahman, Abdur
AU - Yousuf, Farzana Abubakar
PY - 2002
Y1 - 2002
N2 - The majority of children in Karachi have blood lead levels above 10 μg/dl, the upper safety limit set by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A study was undertaken to evaluate chronic lead exposure in children by measuring lead levels in shed primary teeth collected from primary school children in Karachi. A total of 309 teeth were collected from nine different schools, and analysed for lead content by atomic absorption spectrophotometry with electrothermal atomization. The mean (SD) age of the subjects was 7.6 (1.2) years and the mean lead level was 5.78 μg/g of whole tooth (dry weight), ranging from 0.42 to 39.75 μg/g. Incisor teeth had a significantly higher mean (SD) lead level, 6.42 (4.19) μg/g, than canines and molars which contained 4.91 (5.12) μg and 4.50 (2.67) μg lead whole tooth (dry weight), respectively. Significant differences were observed between different schools. No difference was observed between boys and girls and the accumulation of lead in teeth was not correlated with chronological age.
AB - The majority of children in Karachi have blood lead levels above 10 μg/dl, the upper safety limit set by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A study was undertaken to evaluate chronic lead exposure in children by measuring lead levels in shed primary teeth collected from primary school children in Karachi. A total of 309 teeth were collected from nine different schools, and analysed for lead content by atomic absorption spectrophotometry with electrothermal atomization. The mean (SD) age of the subjects was 7.6 (1.2) years and the mean lead level was 5.78 μg/g of whole tooth (dry weight), ranging from 0.42 to 39.75 μg/g. Incisor teeth had a significantly higher mean (SD) lead level, 6.42 (4.19) μg/g, than canines and molars which contained 4.91 (5.12) μg and 4.50 (2.67) μg lead whole tooth (dry weight), respectively. Significant differences were observed between different schools. No difference was observed between boys and girls and the accumulation of lead in teeth was not correlated with chronological age.
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/0036130205
U2 - 10.1179/027249302125000201
DO - 10.1179/027249302125000201
M3 - Article
C2 - 11926055
AN - SCOPUS:0036130205
SN - 0272-4936
VL - 22
SP - 79
EP - 83
JO - Annals of Tropical Paediatrics
JF - Annals of Tropical Paediatrics
IS - 1
ER -