Background: The aim of the present study was to determine blood lead levels in a group of Egyptian school-age children and assess its relationship to pubertal development.
Methods: Forty-one children were recruited from high- and low-pollution areas in Cairo, Egypt. Sexual maturation was evaluated using Tanner score. Measurements of blood lead and serum levels of follicle stimulation hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), estradiol in girls and testosterone in boys were performed for included subjects.
Results: A total of 51.2% of children had high blood lead levels (>or=10 microg/dL). Boys with high lead levels had delayed pubertal maturation compared to those with low lead levels. Breast staging of sexual maturation was significantly delayed in girls with high lead levels. FSH and LH were significantly reduced in children of both sexes, and testosterone levels were reduced in boys with high lead.
Conclusion: These findings consolidate the cumulative medical evidence of the deleterious effect of high lead levels on pubertal development, possibly through the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis.