Prevalence of Elevated Blood Lead Levels and Evaluation of a Lead-Risk-Screening Questionnaire in Rural Minnesota

The objectives of the study reported here were to determine the prevalence of elevated blood lead levels in rural Minnesota and to evaluate a lead-risk-screening questionnaire. Blood lead tests and lead risk questionnaires were obtained for a sample of 1,090 children younger than 48 months of age (72 percent of the eligible population) from three rural counties of west-central Minnesota between September 1, 2001, and August 31, 2002. It was found that overall, 2.4 percent of children in the study had blood lead levels of ≥10 μg/dL (0.48 μmol/L) (results for capillary and venous tests combined), 0.9 percent had venous blood lead levels of ≥10 μg/dL, and 0.5 percent of study participants had blood lead levels of ≥20 μg/dL (0.96 μmol/L). Three risk factor questions, when taken together, predicted 90 percent of blood lead levels of ≥10 μg/dL and all blood lead levels of ≥20 μg/dL. The study estimated the prevalence of lead poisoning using a sample of the entire population rather than a clinic-based convenience sample. The authors conclude that targeted screening is an effective way to identify lead-poisoned children in rural areas of Minnesota.