Effect of childhood proximity to lead mining on late life cognition

SSM Popul Health. 2022 Jan 28:17:101037. doi: 10.1016/j.ssmph.2022.101037. eCollection 2022 Mar.

Abstract

Introduction: Lead exposure negatively affects cognitive functioning among children. However, there is limited evidence about whether exposure to lead in early life impairs later life cognitive functioning.

Methods: Participants in the prospective Wisconsin Longitudinal Study cohort (N = 8583) were linked to the 1940 Census, which was taken when they were young children. We estimated the effect of living near a lead mine in childhood on late life memory/attention and language/executive function in 2004 (mean age 64) and 2011 (mean age 71).

Results: Lead-exposed children had significantly steeper memory/attention decline between 2004 and 2011 and worse language/executive function at baseline in late life. These long-term effects of lead were not mediated through adolescent IQ or late life SES and health factors.

Discussion: Proximity to lead mining in childhood had long-term effects on late life memory/attention decline and language/executive function, reflecting a possible latent influence of lead exposure. More research is needed to understand behavioral and biological pathways underlying this relationship.

Keywords: Adolescence; Cognition; Cohort study; Late life; Lead exposure; Life course.