Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Exposure To Lead In Gas As Kids Dulled IQ In Half Of US Adults: Study
NBC News: Lead In Gasoline Blunted IQ Of Half The U.S. Population, Study Says
Exposure to leaded gasoline lowered the IQ of about half the population of the United States, a new study estimates. The peer-reviewed study, published Monday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, focuses on people born before 1996 — the year the U.S. banned gas containing lead. Overall, the researchers from Florida State University and Duke University found, childhood lead exposure cost America an estimated 824 million points, or 2.6 points per person on average. (Chuck, 3/7)
USA Today: Lead In US Gas For Cars May Have Lowered Americans' IQ, Study Finds
Researchers at Duke University and Florida State University analyzed publicly available data on U.S. childhood blood-lead levels, leaded-gas use and population statistics and determined the likely lifelong burden of lead exposure carried by every American alive in 2015. They found more than 170 million Americans – more than half of the U.S. population – had “clinically concerning” levels of lead in their blood when they were children, according to the study published Monday in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. (Rodriguez, 3/7)
AP: Half Of US Adults Exposed To Harmful Lead Levels As Kids
Early childhood lead exposure is known to have many impacts on cognitive development, but it also increases risk for developing hypertension and heart disease, experts said. “I think the connection to IQ is larger than we thought and it’s startlingly large,” said Ted Schwaba, a researcher at University of Texas-Austin who studies personality psychology and was not part of the new study. (Costley, 3/7)
In related news about lead contamination —
Cincinnati Enquirer: Kroger Sued For Lead Contamination In Salads, Baked Goods
A California advocacy group is suing Kroger in that state, charging several food items it makes under its store brands contain "dangerous" levels of lead. The lawsuit filed Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court seeks to eliminate the sale of these products in California. Under California consumer protection law, Kroger could also reduce the lead content or simply add a prominent health warning to the packaging. "Kroger is betraying the American public by selling over a dozen products tainted with extraordinarily high amounts of lead,” said Vineet Dubey, the Los Angeles environmental attorney who filed the lawsuit, in a statement. (Coolidge, 3/8)
