Contribution of childhood lead exposure to psychopathology in the US population over the past 75 years.

IF 6.5 1区医学 Q1 PSYCHIATRY

Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry Pub Date : 2024-12-04 DOI:10.1111/jcpp.14072

Michael J McFarland, Aaron Reuben, Matt Hauer

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Abstract

Background: More than half of the current US population was exposed to adverse lead levels in childhood as a result of lead's past use in gasoline. The total contribution of childhood lead exposures to US-population mental health and personality has yet to be evaluated.

Methods: We combined serial, cross-sectional blood-lead level (BLL) data from National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES) with historic leaded-gasoline data to estimate US childhood BLLs from 1940 to 2015 and calculate population mental-health symptom elevations from known lead-psychopathology associations. We utilized five outcomes: (1) General Psychopathology "points", reflecting an individual's liability to overall mental disorder, scaled to match IQ scores (M = 100, SD = 15); (2) Symptoms of Internalizing disorders (anxiety and depression) and Attention-deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD), both z-scored (M = 0, SD = 1); and (3) Differences in the personality traits of Neuroticism and Conscientiousness (M = 0, SD = 1).

Results: Assuming that published lead-psychopathology associations are causal and not purely correlational: We estimate that by 2015, the US population had gained 602-million General Psychopathology factor points because of exposure arising from leaded gasoline, reflecting a 0.13-standard-deviation increase in overall liability to mental illness in the population and an estimated 151 million excess mental disorders attributable to lead exposure. Investigation of specific disorder-domain symptoms identified a 0.64-standard-deviation increase in population-level Internalizing symptoms and a 0.42-standard-deviation increase in AD/HD symptoms. Population-level Neuroticism increased by 0.14 standard deviations and Conscientiousness decreased by 0.20 standard deviations. Lead-associated mental health and personality differences were most pronounced for cohorts born from 1966 through 1986 (Generation X).

Conclusions: A significant burden of mental illness symptomatology and disadvantageous personality differences can be attributed to US children's exposure to lead over the past 75 years. Lead's potential contribution to psychiatry, medicine, and children's health may be larger than previously assumed.

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在过去的75年里，美国人口中儿童铅暴露对精神病理的贡献。

背景：目前超过一半的美国人口在童年时期暴露于有害的铅水平，这是由于过去在汽油中使用铅的结果。儿童时期铅暴露对美国人口心理健康和性格的总体影响尚未得到评估。方法：我们将全国健康与营养检查调查（NHANES）的连续横断面血铅水平（BLL）数据与历史含铅汽油数据相结合，估计1940年至2015年美国儿童血铅水平，并计算已知铅与精神病理相关的人群心理健康症状升高。我们使用了五个结果：(1)一般精神病理学“点”，反映了个体对整体精神障碍的倾向，并与智商分数相匹配（M = 100, SD = 15）；(2)内化障碍（焦虑和抑郁）和注意缺陷/多动障碍（AD/HD）的症状，z得分均为（M = 0, SD = 1）；(3)神经质和尽责性人格特质差异（M = 0, SD = 1）。结果：假设已发表的铅与精神病理学的关联是因果关系，而不是纯粹的相关性：我们估计，到2015年，由于接触含铅汽油，美国人口增加了6.02亿一般精神病理学因子点，反映了人口对精神疾病的总体责任增加了0.13个标准差，估计有1.51亿额外的精神障碍可归因于铅接触。对特定障碍域症状的调查发现，人群水平的内化症状增加了0.64个标准差，AD/HD症状增加了0.42个标准差。人群神经质水平上升0.14个标准差，尽责性水平下降0.20个标准差。在1966年至1986年出生的人群（X一代）中，铅相关的心理健康和人格差异最为明显。结论：在过去的75年里，美国儿童暴露于铅环境中，导致了精神疾病症状的显著负担和不利的人格差异。铅对精神病学、医学和儿童健康的潜在贡献可能比以前认为的要大。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 医学-精神病学

CiteScore

13.80

自引率

5.30%

发文量

169

审稿时长

1 months

期刊介绍： The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry (JCPP) is a highly regarded international publication that focuses on the fields of child and adolescent psychology and psychiatry. It is recognized for publishing top-tier, clinically relevant research across various disciplines related to these areas. JCPP has a broad global readership and covers a diverse range of topics, including: Epidemiology: Studies on the prevalence and distribution of mental health issues in children and adolescents. Diagnosis: Research on the identification and classification of childhood disorders. Treatments: Psychotherapeutic and psychopharmacological interventions for child and adolescent mental health. Behavior and Cognition: Studies on the behavioral and cognitive aspects of childhood disorders. Neuroscience and Neurobiology: Research on the neural and biological underpinnings of child mental health. Genetics: Genetic factors contributing to the development of childhood disorders. JCPP serves as a platform for integrating empirical research, clinical studies, and high-quality reviews from diverse perspectives, theoretical viewpoints, and disciplines. This interdisciplinary approach is a key feature of the journal, as it fosters a comprehensive understanding of child and adolescent mental health. The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry is published 12 times a year and is affiliated with the Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health (ACAMH), which supports the journal's mission to advance knowledge and practice in the field of child and adolescent mental health.