IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v19y2022i4p2200-d750154.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Association between Bone Lead Concentration and Aggression in Youth from a Sub-Cohort of the Birth to Twenty Cohort

Author

Listed:
  • Nonhlanhla Tlotleng

    (Epidemiology and Surveillance Section, National Health Laboratory Service, National Institute for Occupational Health, Braamfontein, Johannesburg 2001, South Africa)

  • Nisha Naicker

    (Epidemiology and Surveillance Section, National Health Laboratory Service, National Institute for Occupational Health, Braamfontein, Johannesburg 2001, South Africa
    Environmental Health Department, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg 2028, South Africa)

  • Angela Mathee

    (Environmental Health Department, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg 2028, South Africa
    Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg 2193, South Africa
    Environment and Health Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council, Johannesburg 2094, South Africa)

  • Andrew C. Todd

    (Department of Environmental Medicine & Public Health, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA)

  • Palesa Nkomo

    (SAMRC Development Pathways for Health Research Unit (DPHRU), University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg 5050, South Africa)

  • Shane A. Norris

    (SAMRC Development Pathways for Health Research Unit (DPHRU), University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg 5050, South Africa
    Global Health Research Institute, School of Health and Human Development, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK)

Abstract

Background: An association between blood-lead levels and aggression has been demonstrated in children and adolescent youth in South Africa. However, there are limited studies that have assessed aggression as an outcome for cumulative lead exposure using bone lead concentration. This study aims to assess the association between bone lead concentration and aggressive behaviour among a sample of youth in South Africa. Methods: Bone lead in 100 participants (53 males and 47 females) recruited and followed in the Birth to Twenty (BT20) Cohort were measured using 109 Cd-based, K-shell X-ray fluorescence (KXRF). The Buss–Perry Aggression questionnaire was used to measure aggressive behaviour. Linear regression models were fitted to determine the association between aggression score for physical, verbal, anger and hostility and bone lead, adjusting for known confounders. Results: A one-microgram-per-gram increase in bone lead was found to increase the score for all four scales of aggression, but significantly only for anger (β = 0.2 [95% CI 0.04–0.370]). Psychosocial factors such as a history of family violence and exposure to neighbourhood crime were significant predictors for aggression. Conclusions: The study provides a preliminary overview of the relationship between cumulative lead exposure and behavioural problems such as aggression. A larger sample, across exposed communities, may prove more definitive in further investigating the association between these two important public health factors and to maximize generalizability.

Suggested Citation

  • Nonhlanhla Tlotleng & Nisha Naicker & Angela Mathee & Andrew C. Todd & Palesa Nkomo & Shane A. Norris, 2022. "Association between Bone Lead Concentration and Aggression in Youth from a Sub-Cohort of the Birth to Twenty Cohort," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(4), pages 1-14, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:4:p:2200-:d:750154
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/4/2200/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/4/2200/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Feigenbaum, James J. & Muller, Christopher, 2016. "Lead exposure and violent crime in the early twentieth century," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 51-86.
    2. Mulusew G Jebena & David Lindstrom & Tefera Belachew & Craig Hadley & Carl Lachat & Roos Verstraeten & Nathalie De Cock & Patrick Kolsteren, 2016. "Food Insecurity and Common Mental Disorders among Ethiopian Youth: Structural Equation Modeling," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(11), pages 1-20, November.
    3. Shane A. Norris & Linda M. Richter & Stella A. Fleetwood, 2007. "Panel studies in developing countries: case analysis of sample attrition over the past 16 years within the birth to twenty cohort in Johannesburg, South Africa," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 19(8), pages 1143-1150.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Milanko Damjanović & Spasoje Mićić & Boško Matović & Dragan Jovanović & Aleksandar Bulajić, 2022. "Differences in Driving Anger among Professional Drivers: A Cross-Cultural Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(7), pages 1-18, March.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Teresa Molina Millán & Karen Macours, 2017. "Attrition in randomized control trials: Using tracking information to correct bias," FEUNL Working Paper Series novaf:wp1702, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Faculdade de Economia.
    2. Philipp Ager & James J Feigenbaum & Casper W Hansen & Hui Ren Tan, 2024. "How the Other Half Died: Immigration and Mortality in U.S. Cities," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 91(1), pages 1-44.
    3. Ludovica Gazze & Claudia Persico & Sandra Spirovska, 2024. "The Long-Run Spillover Effects of Pollution: How Exposure to Lead Affects Everyone in the Classroom," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 42(2), pages 357-394.
    4. Bindler, Anna Louisa & Hjalmarsson, Randi & Machin, Stephen Jonathan & Rubio, Melissa, 2023. "Murphy's Law or luck of the Irish? Disparate treatment of the Irish in 19th century courts," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 121339, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    5. Nic Baigrie & Katherine Eyal, 2014. "An Evaluation of the Determinants and Implications of Panel Attrition in the National Income Dynamics Survey (2008-2010)," South African Journal of Economics, Economic Society of South Africa, vol. 82(1), pages 39-65, March.
    6. Alex Hollingsworth & Ivan Rudik, 2021. "The Effect of Leaded Gasoline on Elderly Mortality: Evidence from Regulatory Exemptions," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 13(3), pages 345-373, August.
    7. Griffiths, Paula L. & Johnson, William & Cameron, Noël & Pettifor, John M. & Norris, Shane A., 2013. "In urban South Africa, 16 year old adolescents experience greater health equality than children," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 11(4), pages 502-514.
    8. Jason Fletcher & Hamid Noghanibehambari, 2023. "Toxified to the Bone: Early-Life and Childhood Exposure to Lead and Men’s Old-Age Mortality," NBER Working Papers 31957, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    9. Gallardo Albarrán, Daniel, 2024. "The Global Sanitary Revolution in Historical Perspective," CEPR Discussion Papers 18754, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    10. Abbasi, Ali & DiTraglia, Francis J. & Gazze, Ludovica & Pals, Bridget, 2023. "Hidden hazards and screening policy: Predicting undetected lead exposure in Illinois," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    11. Molina Millán, Teresa & Macours, Karen, 2017. "Attrition in Randomized Control Trials: Using Tracking Information to Correct Bias," IZA Discussion Papers 10711, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    12. Eric Melander & Martina Miotto, 2023. "Welfare Cuts and Crime: Evidence from the New Poor Law," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 133(651), pages 1248-1264.
    13. Gazze, Ludovica & Heissel, Jennifer, 2021. "Infrastructure upgrades and lead exposure: Do cities face trade-offs when replacing water mains?," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 108(C).
    14. Higney, Anthony & Hanley, Nick & Moro, Mirko, 2022. "The lead-crime hypothesis: A meta-analysis," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    15. Elsner, Benjamin & Wozny, Florian, 2018. "The Human Capital Cost of Radiation: Long-Run Evidence from Exposure Outside the Womb," IZA Discussion Papers 11408, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    16. Hanlon, W.Walker & Heblich, Stephan, 2022. "History and urban economics," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    17. Reza Che Daniels & Kim P. Ingle & Timothy S. L. Brophy, 2022. "Determinants of attrition between Waves 1 and 2 of South Africa's National Income Dynamics Study – Coronavirus Rapid Mobile Survey (NIDS‐CRAM)," South African Journal of Economics, Economic Society of South Africa, vol. 90(4), pages 535-552, December.
    18. Adejoke Christianah Olufemi & Andile Mji & Murembiwa Stanley Mukhola, 2022. "Potential Health Risks of Lead Exposure from Early Life through Later Life: Implications for Public Health Education," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(23), pages 1-21, November.
    19. Federico Curci & Federico Masera, 2018. "Flight from urban blight: lead poisoning, crime and suburbanization," Working Papers 2018/09, Institut d'Economia de Barcelona (IEB).
    20. Anna Aizer & Janet Currie, 2019. "Lead and Juvenile Delinquency: New Evidence from Linked Birth, School, and Juvenile Detention Records," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 101(4), pages 575-587, October.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:4:p:2200-:d:750154. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.