Journal article
Screening for Elevated Blood Lead Levels in Children and Pregnant Women: US Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation Statement
JAMA : the journal of the American Medical Association, Vol.321(15), pp.1502-1509
04/16/2019
DOI: 10.1001/jama.2019.3326
PMID: 30990556
Abstract
Elevated blood lead levels in children are associated with neurologic effects such as behavioral and learning problems, lower IQ, hyperactivity, hearing problems, and impaired growth. In pregnant women, lead exposure can impair organ systems such as the hematopoietic, hepatic, renal, and nervous systems, and increase the risk of preeclampsia and adverse perinatal outcomes. Many of the adverse health effects of lead exposure are irreversible.
To update the 2006 US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommendation on screening for elevated blood lead levels in children and pregnant women.
The USPSTF reviewed the evidence on the benefits and harms of screening for and treatment of elevated blood lead levels. In this update, an elevated blood lead level was defined according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reference level of 5 μg/dL.
The USPSTF found adequate evidence that questionnaires and other clinical prediction tools to identify asymptomatic children with elevated blood lead levels are inaccurate. The USPSTF found adequate evidence that capillary blood testing accurately identifies children with elevated blood lead levels. The USPSTF found inadequate evidence on the effectiveness of treatment of elevated blood lead levels in asymptomatic children 5 years and younger and in pregnant women. The USPSTF found inadequate evidence regarding the accuracy of questionnaires and other clinical prediction tools to identify asymptomatic pregnant women with elevated blood lead levels. The USPSTF found inadequate evidence on the harms of screening for or treatment of elevated blood lead levels in asymptomatic children and pregnant women. The USPSTF concluded that the current evidence is insufficient, and that the balance of benefits and harms of screening for elevated blood lead levels in asymptomatic children 5 years and younger and in pregnant women cannot be determined.
The USPSTF concludes that the current evidence is insufficient to assess the balance of benefits and harms of screening for elevated blood lead levels in asymptomatic children. (I statement) The USPSTF concludes that the current evidence is insufficient to assess the balance of benefits and harms of screening for elevated blood lead levels in asymptomatic pregnant persons. (I statement).
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Screening for Elevated Blood Lead Levels in Children and Pregnant Women: US Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation Statement
- Creators
- Susan J Curry - University of IowaAlex H Krist - Virginia Commonwealth UniversityDouglas K Owens - Stanford UniversityMichael J Barry - Harvard UniversityMichael Cabana - University of California, San FranciscoAaron B Caughey - Oregon Health & Science UniversityChyke A Doubeni - University of PennsylvaniaJohn W Epling Jr - Virginia TechAlex R Kemper - Nationwide Children's HospitalMartha Kubik - Temple UniversityC Seth Landefeld - University of Alabama at BirminghamCarol M Mangione - University of California, Los AngelesLori Pbert - University of Massachusetts Chan Medical SchoolMichael Silverstein - Boston UniversityMelissa A Simon - Northwestern UniversityChien-Wen Tseng - Honolulu UniversityJohn B Wong - Tufts UniversityUS Preventive Services Task Force
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- JAMA : the journal of the American Medical Association, Vol.321(15), pp.1502-1509
- DOI
- 10.1001/jama.2019.3326
- PMID
- 30990556
- ISSN
- 0098-7484
- eISSN
- 1538-3598
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 04/16/2019
- Academic Unit
- Health Management and Policy; Community and Behavioral Health
- Record Identifier
- 9984366290302771
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