Livelli ematici di piombo in gravidanza e in età neonatale. Studio della popolazione di Bari

Blood lead levels during pregnancy and in neonates immediately after birth have been evaluated, showing higher values in mothers compared to neonates (5.81 ±3.05 vs 4.87 ±3.60 μg/100 ml) and a positive correlation between maternal and neonatal levels (r=0.82). On the basis of the results detived from the population examined, it has been observed that 6% of newborns have blood lead levels higher than 10 μg/100 ml a value recently identified by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC, Atlanta, USA) as a limit for toxicity in children. Moreover, neonatal Pb levels were higher than those found in infants from 6 to 12 months (4.87 ±3.60 vs 2,24 ± 0.54 μg/100 ml). During the first week of life there is a steady decrease of blood lead levels, together with increasing renal lead excretion. This study was carried out at the "Dipartimento di Biomedicina dell'Età Evolutiva" University of Bari, southern Italy.