Wednesday May 28, 2008
Childhood lead exposure can predict criminality
Alison Motluk
NewScientist
Children exposed to lead early in life are more likely to be in trouble with the law as adults.
Lead contamination most often arises from the dust and soil, but can also come from lead water pipes or environmental pollution. Studies have consistently found associations between lead exposure in childhood and subsequent antisocial behaviour, but there have always been problems in determining causality.
Now Kim Dietrich at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine and his colleagues have looked prospectively at how lead levels affect the risk of being arrested in adulthood. They recruited 250 pregnant women from a poor lead-contaminated inner-city district in Cincinnati.
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