20th Century Lead Exposure Damaged Americans' Mental Health

Lead is neurotoxic and can erode brain cells and change brain function if it enters the body. As a result, health experts say there is no safe level of exposure at any point in life. Young children are especially vulnerable to lead's ability to inhibit brain development and alter brain health. Unfortunately, no matter our age, our brains are not equipped to protect against lead toxicity.

Older American city water systems still use lead pipes; EPA issued regulations in October It gives cities 10 years to identify and replace lead pipes and $2.6 billion to complete it. Earlier this year, the EPA also lowered levels of lead in soil, which is considered potentially hazardous, resulting in an estimated 1 in 4 homes in the United States having soil. Cleanup may be required.

“Humans are not adapted to the levels of lead exposure that we have been exposed to over the past century,” Ruben said. “There are few effective ways to deal with lead in our bodies, and many of us are exposed to levels 1,000 to 10,000 times higher than natural levels.”

Over the past century, lead has been used in paint, pipes, solder, and, most tragically, in automobile fuel. Many studies have shown an association between lead exposure and neurodevelopmental and mental health problems, particularly conduct disorders, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and depression. But until now, it was unclear how widespread lead-related mental illness symptoms were.

To answer the complex question of how more than 75 years of leaded gas use left a permanent mark on human psychology, Ruben and his co-authors wrote: michael mcfarland and Matthew HauerBoth Florida State University sociology professors looked at publicly available national data.

Use of historical US data Blood lead levels in children, Use of lead gasand demographicsthey determined the potential lifetime burden of lead exposure for every American alive in 2015. From this data, they estimated lead's attack on mental health and personality by calculating “mental illness points” gained from lead gas exposure as a proxy for its harmful effects. About public health.

“This is the exact approach we have taken in the past to estimate the harm of lead on people's cognitive performance and IQ,” McFarland said, adding that the research team previously identified pointed out that Lead stole 824 million IQ points It is calculated from the U.S. population over the past century.

“We've seen tremendous changes in mental health across generations of Americans,” Hauer said. “That means far more people experienced mental illness than if we hadn't added lead to gasoline.” Exposure to lead causes diagnosable mental disorders such as depression and anxiety. rates have increased, but so has the proportion of people experiencing mild distress that impairs their quality of life.

“For most people, the effects of lead would have been like a low-grade fever,” Ruben said. “You won't go to the hospital or seek treatment, but you'll probably suffer a little more than if you didn't have a fever.”

The effects of lead on brain health have also been linked to changes in personality that manifest themselves at the national level. “We estimate population-level changes in neuroticism and conscientiousness,” McFarland said.

As of 2015, more than 170 million Americans, more than half of the U.S. population, had clinically concerning levels of lead in their blood as children, resulting in lower IQ. are more likely to have mental health problems, and are more likely to have mental health problems. You're at higher risk for other long-term health problems, including increased cardiovascular disease.

Leaded gasoline consumption increased rapidly in the early 1960s and peaked in the 1970s. As a result, Ruben and his colleagues found that essentially everyone born in the last 20 years is almost certain to have been exposed to harmful levels of lead from car exhaust. did. Generation X (1965-1980), the generation with the highest exposure to lead, would have suffered the greatest losses in mental health.

“We are beginning to understand that lead exposure in the past, even decades, can impact our health today,” Ruben said. “Our future work is to better understand the role lead has played in our nation's health and ensure that today's children are protected from new lead exposures wherever they occur.”