Date of Publication

1-21-2008

Abstract

Background: The pernicious effects of lead on the health of children are well-documented. The severity of many of these effects directly correlates with increasing blood lead levels (BLLs). The current recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is that BLLs 10 g/dL are dangerous. However, new evidence demonstrates that there is no safe BLL and that children with BLLs /dL exhibit neurological and social deficits. The Vermont Department of Health (VDH) currently recommends universal blood lead screening for 12 and 24 month-old children. In 2006, 79% of 12 month-old children and 41% of 24 month-old children were screened in Vermont.

Advisor(s)

Austin Sumner, MD, MPH, Vermont Department of Health

Jan Carney, University of Vermont College of Medicine

Wendy Davis, MD, University of Vermont College of Medicine

Agency

Vermont Department of Health Environmental Health Division

Subjects

Environmental Health

Notes

Presented at the 136th APHA Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA, October 28, 2008 as "Barriers to pediatric lead screening: A web-based survey of Vermont pediatricians," by Britton C. Keeshan, MPH, Catherine Avener, MS, Amanda Abramson, Jillian Brennan, Elizabeth R. Hill, Jeffrey Maclean, MS, Sanchit Maruti, MS, Kelly Mebust, Jan Carney, MD, MPH, Wendy Davis, MD and Austin Sumner, MD, MPH.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 License

Barriers to Pediatric Blood Lead Screening

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