Prenatal Lead Exposure, Type 2 Diabetes, and Cardiometabolic Risk Factors in Mexican Children at Age 10-18 Years.

CONTEXT: Several cross-sectional studies have assessed the association of lead exposure with type 2 diabetes and cardiometabolic risk factors in adults; however, studies of such associations in childhood are rare.

OBJECTIVE: We assessed the prospective associations of prenatal exposure to lead with type 2 diabetes and cardiometabolic risk factors in children.

DESIGN: The Early Life Exposure in Mexico to Environmental Toxicants is a birth cohort study of pregnant women and their offspring.

SETTING: Public hospitals in Mexico City.

PATIENTS OR OTHER PARTICIPANTS: Women were recruited during pregnancy; their offspring were recruited for a follow-up visit at age 10 to 18 years (n = 369).

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: We measured fasting serum markers of type 2 diabetes and cardiometabolic risk factors in children, including fasting glucose, insulin, and lipids. The index of insulin resistance was calculated.

RESULTS: The geometric mean of maternal blood lead levels (BLLs) during pregnancy was 4.3 µg/dL (95% confidence interval [CI]): 4.0-4.6 µg/dL) in the entire sample. In boys, those with maternal BLLs ≥ 5 µg/dL (compared with those with BLLs < 5 µg/dL) had significantly lower z scores for total cholesterol (β = -0.41, 95% CI: -0.71, -0.12), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (β = -0.32, 95% CI: -0.59, -0.05), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (β = -0.52, 95% CI: -0.81, -0.22), adjusting for covariates. No associations were detected in girls.

CONCLUSIONS: In our study, we found that higher prenatal exposure to lead was associated with lower levels of cholesterol in children following a sex-specific pattern. Further studies with a larger sample size that examine whether sex is a potential modifier are needed to confirm our findings.