Boys More Vulnerable to Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) than Girls<\/b><\/p>\n
In a study conducted by a team of scientists under the leadership of Xiaobin Wang, MD, MPH, ScD, the director of the Center on the Early Life Origins of Disease in the Department of Population, it was established that individuals who have higher levels of lead in childhood blood have higher chances of developing ADHD. The study further revealed that the boys were the most vulnerable. These findings were established after Wang and her colleagues analyzed data from 1479 mother-infant pairs. 299 of these pairs comprised of a child with ADHD while 1180 others were neurotypical children.<\/p>\n
How the Study was done<\/b><\/p>\n
To conduct the study, Wang and colleagues made use of electronic medical records in order to get the measurements of lead in the child\u2019s first blood as well as the diagnosis of ADHD by the physician. The researchers also did multiple logistic regression and graphic plots to evaluate the links between dose-response and the condition. The potential effect of modifiers was also analyzed.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter the removal of lead from gasoline and paints, exposure to lead has declined significantly over the past few years. However, that hasn\u2019t stopped the metal from spreading in low-income populations,\u201d explained Wang and colleagues to the MD Magazine<\/i>.<\/p>\n
The study was done in the Boston Birth Cohort and established that at least 8.9% of children in this area had about 5-10 ug\/dL lead levels.<\/p>\n
Boys at Higher Risk<\/b><\/p>\n
Wang completely opposed the ideology that there are safe low levels of lead, explaining that their evidence suggested that no given amount of lead can be said to be safe. An 8.9% lead levels could cause an increase in risk to ADHD by about 66%.<\/p>\n
Furthermore, significant gender differences were also spotted. In boys, for example, the lead-ADHD association increase risk by 149%. \u201cThe association in girls was mainly attenuated, which suggests that boys are more vulnerable to lead exposure than the boys.\u201d<\/p>\n