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Lead Exposure Turns Children into Potential Criminals

A recent study indicates that lead exposure causes severe behavioral issues in young adults

By Monica Gaza, Life & Style Editor

30th of May 2008, 13:46 GMT

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Young children exposed to lead turn into teenagers with behavioral issues

We read about teen violence almost every day - and by the looks of it, this dramatic phenomenon is not going anywhere soon. We often hear representatives of the authorities complaining that the sources of

teen violence are difficult to deal with - broken families, poverty, substance abuse - however, scientists have uncovered that there is one source of violent criminal behavior in teens which could be brought under strict control by authorities, with a little bit of effort: we're talking about lead exposure during childhood.

Lead exposure in early childhood is known to occur in various poor urban and suburban areas, where families are hosted in old houses which are contaminated with lead. A recent study conducted in the United States has shown that for every five micro grams per deciliter increase in blood lead at the age of six, there was an almost 50 % increase in the risk of being arrested for violent crime as a young adult. This can be explained by the fact that exposure to lead as a child results in brain shrinkage, especially among young men. The areas of the brain which were shown to suffer from atrophy as a result of lead exposure were precisely those governing the organization of actions, decisions and behavior, regulating behavior, and coordinating fine movements.

'This analysis suggests that adverse cognitive and behavioral outcomes may be related to lead's effect on brain development producing persistent alterations in structure," reads a statement from the researchers who embarked in seeing whether there was any truth behind this theory. Dr David Bellinger is an expert with the Harvard Medical School in Boston. He was not involved in the previously mentioned research but commented on the possible impact of this discovery.

"Even if the contribution of lead to arrest risk is small, however, it has a special status in that, in contrast to most other known risk factors for criminality, we know full well how to prevent it". The conclusion is that mothers should keep their children away from lead sources at all times and prevent any prolonged exposure to the toxic substance in order to keep their young children safe and healthy.

TAGS:

teenagers | lead exposure | research | study

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