Abstract
Context:
Previous studies have suggested that excessive lead exposure is related to aggressive and violent behavior.
Objective:
To evaluate the association between estimated air lead concentrations and homicide rates.
Design:
Cross-sectional ecological study.
Setting:
All counties in the contiguous 48 states of the United States.
Exposure Measure:
Estimated air lead concentrations and blood lead levels.
Main Outcome Measure:
The homicide rate in each county.
Results:
Negative binomial regression was used to examine the relationship between air lead concentrations and the incidence of homicide across counties in the United States (N = 3111). After adjusting for sociologic confounding factors and 9 measures of air pollution, the only indicator of air pollution found to be associated with homicide rates was air lead concentration. Across all counties, estimated air lead concentrations ranged from 0 to 0.17 μg/m3. The adjusted results suggest that the difference between the highest and lowest level of estimated air lead is associated with a homicide incidence rate ratio of 4.12 (95% confidence interval, 1.02-16.61).
Conclusion:
The results of this study support recent findings that there is an association between lead exposure and violent behavior.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 579-582 |
| Number of pages | 4 |
| Journal | Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine |
| Volume | 155 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| Publication status | Published - 2001 |
