Lead exposure and antisocial behavior: A systematic review of human and animal evidence

IF 9.7 1区环境科学与生态学 Q1 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES

Environment International Pub Date : 2025-09-16 DOI:10.1016/j.envint.2025.109786

Rachel M. Shaffer, Laura M. Carlson, Kirstin Hester, Haesoo Kim, Parker Duffney, Jenna E. Forsyth, Greg Ferraro, Christine Till, Amanda Haddock, Jenna Strawbridge, Charles C. Lanfear, Zahra Gohari, Alexandra L. Lee, Howard Hu, Ellen Kirrane

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background

Despite decades of research and interventions, lead (Pb) exposure remains a global public health concern. In addition to well-documented impacts on cognition, there is growing evidence of Pb’s impacts on antisocial behaviors, including aggression, conduct or antisocial disorders, and violation of social norms. We conduct a systematic review on the association between Pb and antisocial behavior from human and animal data.

Methods

We followed our protocol with selected modifications for practicality. Peer-reviewed epidemiological and toxicology literature from PubMed, BIOSIS, and Web of Science were searched through June 2024 and screened for relevance, leveraging machine-learning. Details for each Population, Exposure, Comparator, Outcome (PECO)-relevant study were summarized. Studies were evaluated for potential bias and sensitivity according to predefined metrics through the Health Assessment Workspace Collaborative (HAWC) system. Evidence was synthesized by sub-outcome (human: aggression; antisocial diagnoses or domains; violation of social norms; animal: aggression; social behavior) based on approach adapted from the U.S. EPA.

Results

More than 15,000 studies were identified. After screening and scoping refinements, 43 epidemiological and 37 animal studies were included for narrative review. In the epidemiological database, there was lack of comparability in outcome assessment methods, precluding quantitative meta-analysis. Human and animal evidence for impacts on aggression was slight. Human and animal evidence for impacts on antisocial-related disorders or domains and social behavior, respectively, was moderate. Human evidence for impacts on violation of social norms was moderate.

Conclusions

Our updated review of epidemiological and toxicological evidence indicates that Pb likely causes antisocial behavior.

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铅暴露和反社会行为：对人类和动物证据的系统回顾

尽管进行了数十年的研究和干预，铅暴露仍然是一个全球公共卫生问题。除了对认知的影响外，越来越多的证据表明铅对反社会行为的影响，包括攻击、行为或反社会障碍以及违反社会规范。我们从人类和动物数据中对铅与反社会行为之间的关系进行了系统的综述。方法我们遵循我们的方案，并进行了一些实用性的修改。在2024年6月之前，利用机器学习对PubMed、BIOSIS和Web of Science中同行评审的流行病学和毒理学文献进行了搜索，并筛选了相关性。总结了每个人群、暴露、比较物、结果（PECO）相关研究的细节。通过健康评估工作空间协作（HAWC）系统，根据预定义的指标评估研究的潜在偏倚和敏感性。根据美国环境保护局的方法，通过子结果（人类：攻击；反社会诊断或领域；违反社会规范；动物：攻击；社会行为）来合成证据。结果超过15000项研究被确认。在筛选和细化范围后，纳入43项流行病学研究和37项动物研究进行叙述性综述。在流行病学数据库中，结果评估方法缺乏可比性，因此无法进行定量荟萃分析。人类和动物对攻击性的影响的证据很少。人类和动物对反社会相关障碍或领域和社会行为的影响的证据分别是中等的。对违反社会规范的影响的人类证据是温和的。结论最新的流行病学和毒理学证据表明，铅可能导致反社会行为。

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

Environment International 环境科学-环境科学

CiteScore

21.90

自引率

3.40%

发文量

734

审稿时长

2.8 months

期刊介绍： Environmental Health publishes manuscripts focusing on critical aspects of environmental and occupational medicine, including studies in toxicology and epidemiology, to illuminate the human health implications of exposure to environmental hazards. The journal adopts an open-access model and practices open peer review. It caters to scientists and practitioners across all environmental science domains, directly or indirectly impacting human health and well-being. With a commitment to enhancing the prevention of environmentally-related health risks, Environmental Health serves as a public health journal for the community and scientists engaged in matters of public health significance concerning the environment.