Blood lead levels in school children of Peshawar city

ABSTRACT

Five hundred school children comprising males and females in the ratio of 31 with mean age of 14 and 13.2 years respectively were selected from various schools of Peshawar city and investigated for their blood lead levels. Mean blood lead levels of male and female students have been found to be 21.2 +/- 8.15 and 16.8 +/- 4.81 micro g/dl respectively. 13%of male students showed blood lead level in the range of 31-50 micro g/dl with no female students in this range. Mean blood lead level of students who live near main roads was significantly higher than those living at a distance of more than 1/2 km from the main road. Blood lead levels was found to be significantly higher in males than females living close to main roads. In contrast to Karachi where over 98% of children had blood lead levels over 20 ug/dl, in Peshawar, 32.G% had a level above this limit. The finding that 13% of male children having high blood level in the range of 31-50 micro g/dI and who are at risk of neurophysiologic impairment should be a cause for concern and immediate measures need to be taken to reduce environmental pollution caused by leaded petrol