Timing of an accelerated body mass increase in children exposed to lead in early life: A longitudinal study

•Obesity in early life might be important in development of obesity-related diseases.•Perinatal lead exposure accelerated body mass increase in 2-years old children.•Efforts in reducing lead exposure in early life should be considered.

In utero exposure to lead is known to cause various adverse health outcomes and early life obesity can affect permanent metabolic alterations leading to adverse health outcomes. To examine the relation between perinatal lead exposure and childhood obesity, lead level in cord bloods and growth- and obesity-related markers at birth were measured from 280 mother-child pairs. The weight, height, and body mass index (BMI) of children were measured at birth and followed up several times up to 27 months of age. The relations between lead level and growth- and obesity-related markers were evaluated using a generalized linear model after adjustment for maternal age, maternal BMI, gestational period, cesarean section, and smoking status. The changes of child weight, height, and BMI z-scores at followed-up months of age after birth by lead exposure were evaluated using a generalized linear model after adjustment for covariates used in the analyses for growth- and obesity-related markers and child's gender. The lead level was positively associated with an increase of birth height (p = 0.019) and a decrease of ponderal index at birth (p = 0.027) in boys, but not in girls. Moreover, the lead level was positively associated with increases of BMI z-score after 18 months of age (p = 0.070 at 18 months of age; p = 0.003 at 24 months of age; and p = 0.002 at 27 months of age). Perinatal lead exposure affected accelerated body mass increases at specific times of the children' development.

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