Lead Poisoning Linked To Deliquent Behaviour

IOL ^ | 1-27-2003

[blam]

Lead poisoning linked to delinquent behaviour

January 27 2003 at 06:27AM

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania - Children exposed to lead have a much greater chance of developing delinquent behaviour, researchers say.

Dr Herbert Needleman, of the University of Pittsburgh in the United States, examined 194 youths convicted in a juvenile court in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, and compared them with 146 non-delinquents from high schools in Pittsburgh.

He found the delinquent youths had significantly higher average concentrations of lead in their bones - 11 parts per million, compared with 1,5 ppm in the control group.

The research, published in the journal Neurotoxicology and Terotology, is the first to show that lead exposure is higher in convicted delinquents.

'Children became irritable, overactive and aggressive' But it is part of a growing body of evidence linking lead to behavioural and mental problems in children.

"This study provides further evidence that delinquent behaviour can be caused in part by childhood exposure to lead," Needleman said.

"For years parents have been telling their paediatricians that their children's behaviour changed after they were lead poisoned and the children became irritable, overactive and aggressive."

In 1996 Needleman, who is a professor of child psychiatry and paediatrics, published a study of 300 boys in Pittsburgh public schools.

It showed those with relatively high levels of lead in their bones were more likely to engage in anti-social behaviour such as bullying, vandalism, truancy and shoplifting.

And in 1979 Needleman found that children whose teeth showed high levels of lead had lower IQ scores, shorter attention spans and poorer language skills. - Sapa-DPA

[Roy Tucker]

Oh, that explains it. Let's sue the lead paint manufacturers.

[DoughtyOne]

Just about anything can and will be used to prove that humans don't have control over their actions, and are not resposible for anything they do. I do think humans are more intelligent than animals and can control their actions.

[dtel]

If lead were lethal, I would be dead.
As a telephone cable splicer, I melted it, filed it, beat on it, and soldered it. Most times in the enclosed space of a manhole.
Hell, we were exposed to so many toxic chemicals we should glow in the dark. I ought to sue 3M for being used as a human guinea pig.
Yeah, that's the ticket.

[Roy Tucker]

You must be one bad delinquent. Get a lawyer and you too can be rich in the great lottery grab that is the US tort system.

[Dinsdale]

I'll give the delinquent a case of .357 lead poisoning.

Read the article? Bah.

[templar]

Wonder if he factored in the socio-economic status of the delinquents vs. the high school students. Like, maybe, being raised in a lower class welfare family could result in both exposure to lead and delinquent behaviour and being raised in a middle class working family could result in less lead exposure and better behaviour? These news reports never give enough details about a study to do anything other than accept the conclusion they present.

[blam]

I agree. I used to chew on those small BB sized lead weights when I was a kid.(Didn't know any better). I didn't turn out to bad.

[oyez]

Did anyone ever stop to think that lead paint has not been used in years and fluridation of water supplies started about the same time lead paint was discontenued?

[blam]

"Did anyone ever stop to think that lead paint has not been used in years and fluridation of water supplies started about the same time lead paint was discontenued?"

I don't fluoride is widely used, is it? (anyway I have well water)

[tubebender]

Oh, that explains it. Let's sue the lead paint manufacturers.

Uh...in Calif they sue the landlord wih the help of the State. Lead paint removal is a huge scam here and elseware as depicted on This Old House many times. My bet is this will go the way of RADON gas scare of a few years ago. Asbestos removal is another scam that causes more harm than good in many cases.

I think the reseach so be directed at how deliquents accumulate lead in their systems.

[PoorMuttly]

Y'mean my constant digging under the birdbath in the backyard even though I know I'll get in trouble for it is because of all those nifty mushroomed bullets I've been collecting from the police pistol range I'm also not supposed to be prowling on after I slip under the fence through the tunnel that's not supposed to be there...AND IT'S NOT MY FAULT ???...as in EXCUSE ?!!! COOL !!!!!!!

[blam]

Well, that depends on why you were digging under the bird bath. Why were you doing that?

[PoorMuttly]

This is the Great Mystery.

It IS the perfect place to look for things, though. But I promised I would never, ever do it again.

I hope my Lead Poisoning doesn't act up.

[DoughtyOne]

I realize you wouldn't have posted that unless you had been exposed to lead. ;)

[oyez]

Flouride addition to municipal water systems is widespread and has been thought to cause every thing from Alzheimer's disease to brittle bones. Many people believe this practice to be forced medication. I don't really have a strong opinion about it, but I do avoid tap water.

[Roy Tucker]

I know, I know.

[Roy Tucker]

To get to the other side, of course.

[PoorMuttly]

I always wanted to see China.