Lead exposure and rate of change in cognitive function in older women.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Higher long-term cumulative lead exposure predicts faster cognitive decline in older men, but evidence of an association in women is lacking.

Objective

To determine if there is an association between lead exposure and cognitive decline in women.

Methods

This study considers a sample of 584 women from the Nurses' Health Study who live in or near Boston, Massachusetts. We quantified lead exposure using biomarkers of lead exposure assessed in 1993-2004 and evaluated cognitive decline by repeated performance on a telephone battery of cognitive tests primarily assessing learning, memory, executive function, and attention completed in 1995-2008. All cognitive test scores were z-transformed for use in analyses. We used linear mixed models with random effects to qu

SUBMITTER: Power MC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3951744 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature