New WHO Global Burden of Disease Study: Lead

The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2010 (GBD 2010) is a collaborative effort of the Gates Foundation-funded Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, WHO, and leading academic centers. The last major update of the GBD in 2000 estimated that lead exposure affected 240 million people around the world, about half of whom had blood lead levels >10ug/dL (the WHO level of concern for children).  Of the children, 97% were living in developing countries. The associated burden of disease was estimated to include 9.8 million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) related to mild mental retardation and 229,000 premature deaths and 3.1 million DALYs cardiovascular diseases caused by elevated blood pressure.

Our preliminary results indicate that elevated blood lead levels remain widespread world-wide.  However, in contrast to 2010, populations in a number of global regions such as North America, Western Europe, and Australsia, have blood lead levels that have declined (likely based, in large part, to regionally-based phase-outs of leaded gasoline) while retaining many adults with high cumulative lead exposure (from past high exposures).  Other regions, such as the Carribean, South Asia, and, to some extent, sub-Saharan Africa, North Africa and the Middle East, have both high blood lead levels and high cumulative lead exposure (from lead exposure that was high for many years and continuing).  We will present preliminary estimates of the associated impacts on mild mental retardation, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and other potential outcomes at the meeting.