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Title: Blood Lead Concentrations and Antibody Levels to Measles, Mumps, and Rubella among U.S. Children.

Authors: Jusko, Todd A; Singh, Kyra; Greener, Elizabeth A; Oktapodas Feiler, Marina; Thevenet-Morrison, Kelly; Lawrence, B Paige; Wright, Robert O; Thurston, Sally W

Published In Int J Environ Res Public Health, (2019 08 22)

Abstract: Child blood lead concentrations have been associated with measures of immune dysregulation in nationally representative study samples. However, response to vaccination-often considered the gold standard in immunotoxicity testing-has not been examined in relation to typical background lead concentrations common among U.S. children. The present study estimated the association between blood lead concentrations and antigen-specific antibody levels to measles, mumps, and rubella in a nationally representative sample of 7005 U.S. children aged 6-17 years. Data from the 1999-2004 cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) were used. In the adjusted models, children with blood lead concentrations between 1 and 5 µg/dL had an 11% lower anti-measles (95% CI: -16, -5) and a 6% lower anti-mumps antibody level (95% CI: -11, -2) compared to children with blood lead concentrations <1 µg/dL. The odds of a seronegative anti-measles antibody level was approximately two-fold greater for children with blood lead concentrations between 1 and 5 µg/dL compared to children with blood lead concentrations <1 µg/dL (OR = 2.0, 95% CI: 1.4, 3.1). The adverse associations observed in the present study provide further evidence of potential immunosuppression at blood lead concentrations <5 µg/dL, the present Centers for Disease Control and Prevention action level.

PubMed ID: 31443341 Exiting the NIEHS site

MeSH Terms: Adolescent; Antibodies, Viral/blood*; Child; Female; Humans; Lead/blood*; Male; Measles/immunology; Morbillivirus/immunology*; Mumps virus/immunology*; Mumps/immunology; Nutrition Surveys; Rubella virus/immunology*; Rubella/immunology; United States

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