Prenatal Lead Exposure, Type 2 Diabetes, and Cardiometabolic Risk Factors in Mexican Children at Age 10-18 Years.

CONTEXT: Several cross-sectional studies have assessed the association of lead exposure with type 2 diabetes and cardiometabolic risk factors in adults; however, studies of such associations in childhood are rare.

OBJECTIVE

We assessed the prospective associations of prenatal exposure to lead with type 2 diabetes and cardiometabolic risk factors in children.

DESIGN

The Early Life Exposure in Mexico to Environmental Toxicants is a birth cohort study of pregnant women and their offspring.

SETTING

Public hospitals in Mexico City.

PATIENTS OR OTHER

PARTICIPANTS

Women were recruited during pregnancy; their offspring were recruited for a follow-up visit at age 10 to 18 years (n = 369).

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: We measured fasting serum markers of type 2 diabetes and cardiometabolic risk factors in children, including fasting glucose, insulin, and lipids. The index of insulin resistance was calculated.

RESULTS

The geometric mean of maternal blood lead levels (BLLs) during pregnancy was 4.3 µg/dL (95% confidence interval [CI]): 4.0-4.6 µg/dL) in the entire sample. In boys, those with maternal BLLs ≥ 5 µg/dL (compared with those with BLLs < 5 µg/dL) had significantly lower z scores for total cholesterol (β = -0.41, 95% CI: -0.71, -0.12), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (β = -0.32, 95% CI: -0.59, -0.05), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (β = -0.52, 95% CI: -0.81, -0.22), adjusting for covariates. No associations were detected in girls.

CONCLUSIONS

In our study, we found that higher prenatal exposure to lead was associated with lower levels of cholesterol in children following a sex-specific pattern. Further studies with a larger sample size that examine whether sex is a potential modifier are needed to confirm our findings.