Concentration and influential factors of umbilical cord blood lead among newborns in Wengyuan,Guangdong province

Objective To investigate the concentration of umbilical cord blood lead and its influential factors in Wengyuan county,Guangdong province and to provide a scientific foundation for prenatal and postnatal care.Methods Overall 576 pregnant women giving birth to their children in Wengyuan Maternity and Child Healthcare and Xinjiang Health Center were asked to take a questionnaire survey and their umbilical cord blood samples were collected by well-trained doctors during 1st September,2011 and 31th August,2012.Results For the participants,the concentration range of umbilical cord blood lead was 12.77-253.63 μg/L,and the median and interquartile of umbilical cord blood lead concentration were 31.96 μg/L and 18.37 μg/L,respectively.There were 44(7.64%) of the blood samples with the lead concentration higher than 100 μg/L.Univariate analyses indicated that a distance of over 50 meters from residence to road(odds ratioOR=0.39,95% confidence interval95% CI:0.19-0.78),average time of 30 minutes to the road by walking(OR=2.51,95% CI:1.30-4.84),drinking coffee(OR=4.47,95% CI:2.38-8.39),drinking tea(OR=3.00,95% CI:1.60-5.62),and calcium supplement(OR=0.26,95% CI:0.13-0.52) were all associated with umbilical cord blood lead concentration.Multivariate analyses indicated that drinking coffee(OR=3.58,95% CI:1.11-11.57) and calcium supplement(OR=0.31,95% CI:0.10-0.97) were associated with umbilical cord blood lead concentration.Conclusion The lead concentration in umbilical cord blood is relatively high among the newborns in Wengyuan county of Guangdong province.The distance from residence to road and life habits of the pregnant woman are significantly associated with the lead concentration in umbilical cord blood.