Although the prevalence of elevated childhood blood lead levels (BLLs) has been declining, there are still an estimated 500,000 children (1 to 5 years) with BLLs above the CDC’s reference value (≥ 5 μg/dL). The objective of this study was to evaluate the ecological association between soil lead (Pb) concentrations in greenspaces in Brooklyn, NY and elevated BLLs of children aged 1 to 5 years old. Soil samples (n = 1504) were collected from a wide variety of parks within 43 neighborhood tabulation areas (NTAs) located in Brooklyn, NY, analyzed with a portable XRF with a subset (n = 350), and also analyzed by ICP-MS. Lead concentrations were right skewed with a mean of 160.4 ppm and a median of 113.1 ppm. The Pb concentration range spanned three orders of magnitude with most samples (66.7%) ≥ 80 ppm and 6.7% of samples ≥ 400 ppm. Elevated BLL (≥ 5ug/dL) data on children 1 to 5 years were obtained from the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (2011–2015). Weighted median soil Pb concentrations were calculated for each NTA and stratified into quartiles. The overall median rate of children from 1 to 5 years old with BLLs ≥ 5 µg/dL was 28.6 per 1000; the median rate was highest (p = 0.070) in the fourth quartile (Pb concentrations ≥ 150 ppm) compared to the first quartile (Pb concentrations < 88 ppm), 37.2 vs. 28.3 per 1000, respectively. We then used multivariable linear regression to determine the ecological association between BLL rates and soil Pb concentrations. In the final stepwise multivariable regression model, controlling for known risk factors, there was a significant positive association between soil Pb concentrations and increased childhood BLL rates (beta = 0.0008; p = 0.004). Our findings suggest that there is an ecological association between high soil Pb levels and increased rates of elevated childhood BLLs.

尽管儿童血铅水平 (BLL) 升高的患病率一直在下降，但估计仍有 500,000 名儿童（1 至 5 岁）的 BLL 高于 CDC 的参考值（≥ 5 μg/dL）。本研究的目的是评估纽约布鲁克林绿地中土壤铅 (Pb) 浓度与 1 至 5 岁儿童 BLL 升高之间的生态关联。土壤样本 ( n  = 1504) 从位于纽约布鲁克林的 43 个邻里制表区 (NTA) 内的各种公园收集，使用便携式 XRF 进行分析，其中的子集 ( n = 350)，并通过 ICP-MS 进行分析。铅浓度右偏，平均值为 160.4 ppm，中值为 113.1 ppm。Pb 浓度范围跨越三个数量级，大多数样品 (66.7%) ≥ 80 ppm，6.7% 的样品 ≥ 400 ppm。1 至 5 岁儿童的升高的 BLL (≥ 5ug/dL) 数据来自纽约市健康和心理卫生部 (2011-2015)。计算每个 NTA 的加权中值土壤 Pb 浓度并分层为四分位数。1 至 5 岁儿童 BLL ≥ 5 µg/dL 的总体中位发生率为 28.6/1000；中位率最高（p = 0.070）在第四四分位数（铅浓度 ≥ 150 ppm）与第一四分位数（铅浓度 < 88 ppm）相比，每 1000 人分别为 37.2 和 28.3。然后，我们使用多元线性回归来确定 BLL 率与土壤 Pb 浓度之间的生态关联。在最终的逐步多元回归模型中，控制已知风险因素，土壤 Pb 浓度与儿童 BLL 率增加之间存在显着正相关（β = 0.0008；p  = 0.004）。我们的研究结果表明，高土壤铅水平与儿童 BLL 升高率增加之间存在生态关联。