Cumulative lead dose and cognitive function in older adults.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The current population of older Americans has accumulated substantial lifetime lead doses, which raises concern about the possibility of adverse cognitive outcomes. We evaluated whether cumulative lead dose from environmental exposures is associated with cognitive function and decline, and whether such effects are persistent, reversible, or progressive.

Methods

We used longitudinal linear modeling to evaluate associations of tibia lead concentration with cognitive function and decline in sociodemographically diverse, community-dwelling adults aged 50-70 years who were randomly selected from neighborhoods in Baltimore. Six summary measures of cognitive function were created from standard tests in the following domains: language, processing speed, eye-hand coordinat

SUBMITTER: Bandeen-Roche K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3523304 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature