Exposure to Lead and Other Metals for Pregnant Women in the National Children’s Study Vanguard Studies
On this page:
Much is known about human exposure to contaminants in residential settings. Existing data gaps, however, point to a need to measure chemicals more comprehensively in environmental media and biological samples, particularly for exposure during pregnancy and early life stages. The National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) National Children’s Study (NCS) Vanguard Studies were designed and piloted from 2009 through 2014 to fulfill this research need. We accessed NCS data through the NIH Data and Specimen Hub (DASH) and combined NCS measurement data with its survey instrument information for robust, multi-faceted exposure analysis. Our focus was on lead (Pb) and other metals from maternal blood samples, maternal urine samples, house surface wipe samples, and house dust vacuum samples. For Pb, there were blood samples from 426 pregnant NCS participants, with results that ranged from 0.18 to 3.09 ug/dL. Creatinine-adjusted urinary Pb concentrations (n=366) ranged from 0.11 to 3.8 µg/g. Surface wipe samples obtained from the mothers’ homes numbered 640 with an additional 99 taken from areas where the child, at roughly 6 months of age, spent the most time in the home; Pb loadings in the surface wipe samples ranged from 0.02 to 71.8 ng/cm2. Vacuum bag dust Pb concentrations (n=208) ranged from 2.3 to 1350 µg/g. Blood and urine results for this group of pregnant women were similar to those observed for females in the general U.S. population in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Our correlation analyses and linear models examined and estimated relationships for selected metals within and across media in the NCS data. The availability of the residential environmental media and extensive survey data provides for enhanced understanding of important exposure sources and pathways for Pb and other metals during pregnancy and early life.