Monitoring of Changes in the Premorbid Indicators of Children's Health under the Influence of Low Lead Concentrations

For the industrially developed territories, the problem of anthropogenic pollution of the environment is not just relevant, but also exacerbates on a qualitatively new level in connection with a significant deterioration of almost all indicators of population health, especially of the children's health. Among the large variety of factors that affect people, the leading place belongs to the chemicals. Lead (Pb) is the most global and potentially dangerous toxicant among them. The lead stress of the environment proved the significant deterioration of children's health. Preschool children who live in the environmentally unfavorable conditions constitute a risk group for the breakdown of the adaptation of homeostatic mechanisms. Namely the lead, even in small doses, has its unfavorable effect on the health of children, causing disorders of mental, physical and psycho-physiological development. We have carried out a complex hygienic study of lead content in the environmental objects and biosubstrates of the 115 preschool children living in the conditions of increased influence of this toxicant and studied their psychophysiological features. The complex lead stressing of the children from an industrial city was 22.2% higher than that of preschool children living in the suburban area. The elevated levels of Pb in the biosubstrates, an increased δ-ALK activity, and disorders of psychophysiological indices of the industrial city children were determined. The comparative analysis of the biomonitoring data confirmed the assumption of a more significant human impact on the child's body in the industrial districts of the city. 70-100% of the surveyed children of industrial areas had lead concentration in blood at the level causing intellectual disruption. These children are in risk group of developing a chronic lead intoxication. 20% of children in the first observation area had 7-10 mcg / l of lead concentration in blood. This means they are approaching the potential risk group. Having assessed the results of the biomonitoring we can conclude that despite the relatively low external concentration of heavy metals in the environmental objects, such abiotic metal as lead was determined at elevated concentrations in organisms of children of industrial areas, which may be explained by its prolonged and continuous flow into the child's body with air, water, and food. Children living in industrial areas of the city have an excess of normative values of lead concentration in blood by 60-100%, in urine – by 33-66%, in hair – by 73.1-78.6%, and in the teeth – by 100% of the examined. The largest amount of lead in preschool children's bio-substrate was registered in the second surveyed industrial region, which is 2-4.5 times higher than the data of children in the first district. Statistically significant (p <0.001) excess of lead in bio-substrates of industrial area children was established in comparison with control group children. The fact, that lead was defined both in organisms of children living in technogenic areas and in those living in almost pure areas, is another proof of the global distribution of lead in life-supporting environments and emphasizes its potential danger for the child's body even in small concentrations in the environment. T