A recent study has warned of the large proportion of deaths from cardiovascular diseases linked to lead poisoning.
- Lead poisoning refers to acute or chronic lead poisoning.
- In 2019, 5.5 million deaths from cardiovascular disease worldwide were due to lead poisoning, according to a study.
- However, these results remain to be confirmed.
Also called lead poisoning, lead poisoning is a serious pathology caused by the absorption of lead by the body. This chemical element passes into the blood, and can lead to anemia, in other words to a lack of iron. “Lead is particularly dangerous for children and pregnant women who can also contaminate the fetus”precise the Centre-Val de Loire Regional Health Agency.
Next to 5.5 million deaths from cardiovascular diseases linked to lead poisoning
In a recent study published in the journal Lancet Planetary Health, researchers have warned of the consequences of lead poisoning, which they say are largely underestimated. They notably indicated that lead poisoning was responsible for 5.5 million deaths from cardiovascular diseases worldwide in 2019, and has disrupted the cognitive abilities of children under five, particularly in developing countries.
When searching, Ernesto Sánchez-Triana and Bjorn Larsen, two World Bank economists, examined the level of lead poisoning in the populations of 183 countries based on blood test estimates, which had been modeled in the Global Burden of Disease, a research program . These data were then cross-referenced with the consequences of lead poisoning.
Saturnism and cardiovascular diseases: results to be confirmed
According to the results, 30% of deaths from cardiovascular diseases are linked to lead poisoning, a level six times higher than current estimates. For Bjorn Larsen, this figure is “enormous”, and the impact of lead would be greater than that of smoking or cholesterol in the development of cardiovascular pathologies.
However, these conclusions should be taken with a pinch of salt. Indeed, scientists have been wary of certain methodological choices. This is particularly the case of Roy Harrisson, air pollution expert at the University of Birmingham (United Kingdom), who considered this work to be “interesting, but subject to many uncertainties”. According to him, the degree of lead poisoning is difficult to assess in populations in developing countries. “If they are confirmed, these results will be major in terms of public health. But as they stand, they only constitute an interesting hypothesis”he noted.
