Premature deaths by cardiovascular illnesses and ischemic heart disease are linked to lead exposure, according to the results of a study published in the medical journal Lancet Public Health. The exposure comes from historical use of this toxic metal in fuel, paint, plumbing, food and industrial emissions.
The study used data from the National Health and Nutrition Survey (NHANES-III) of 14,289 people aged 20 and older in the United States between 1988 and 1994 and at the end of 2011. All the participants underwent a medical examination and a test on their level of lead.
During the study, 4,422 people died, including 1,801 from cardiovascular disease and 988 from heart disease.
Lead implicated in heart disease
At the start of the research, the average level of lead found in participants’ blood was 2.7 µg/dL. One in five participants (3632 people) had levels of 5 µg/dL or more, and those with the highest lead levels were older, less educated, more likely to be male, were smokingconsumed larger amounts ofalcoholhad a less healthy dieta rate of cholesterol higher and were more likely to have high blood pressure or diabetes.
Researchers observed that people with high lead levels (6.7 µg/dL) had a 37% higher risk of premature death from any cause, 70% higher risk of cardiovascular death. They doubled the risk of death from ischemic heart disease with lower levels (1 µg/dL).
“Our findings suggest that of the 2.3 million deaths each year in the United States, about 400,000 can be attributed to lead exposure, an estimate ten times higher than the current one,” the authors conclude.
“This surprisingly high figure is “comparable to today’s death toll from exposure to tobacco smoke“, they recall.
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