The Role of Lead Exposure on Attention-Deficit/‎ Hyperactivity ‎Disorder ‎in Children: A Systematic Review

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common behavioral ýdisorders in children effecting the families and society. This systematic review examined ýthe literature on the role of lead exposure in children with ADHDþ þsymptoms. Articles were ýanalytically compared, focusing on the methodology used to assess exposure andþ þadverse ýeffectsþ þon children with ADHD. ý
Using the search strategy from six databases (Pub Med, PsycINFO, Web of Science, SID, ýIRAN Medex, IRAN DOC), hand searching in key journals, list of references of selected ýarticles and gray literature, without time and language limitation, articles up to May 2014 ýwere entered into this review. In this review, 1,387 articles were acquired at the primary ýsearch. Study selection and quality assessment processes were done based on Cochrane ýlibrary guidelines. After assessing the quality and inclusion and exclusion criteria, 18 articles ýwere selected and entered into the data synthesis.ý
Blood Lead level (BLL) of less than 10µg/dL in children has been attributed to at least one ýtype of ADHD i.e., Combined / Inattentive / Hyperactive-Impulsive. The results of this ýstudy revealed that in 16 out of the 18 studies, a significant association was found between ýBLL and one of the types of ADHD.ý
Based on the findings of this study, even the BLL of less than the action level of 10µg/dL, ýchosen by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), may affect children with ýADHD.ý