Scientists from Japan and Zambia have demonstrated that children exposed to environmental lead poisoning can affect their health and well-being, as well as the mental and physical health of their mothers.It is easy to prevent lead poisoning in children. Children and infants are more susceptible to adverse effects than adults due to their smaller sizes and weights. Chronic lead poisoning can cause fatigue, sleep problems, headaches and stupor. Kabwe, Zambia's population is extremely exposed to high levels of lead. This is due to the Broken Hill mine's contamination of the area. Many Kabwe citizens make their living by mining tailings and are further exposed to heavy metal poisoning.A team of scientists from Japan, Zambia and Japan, including Professor Harukazu Tohyama of Hokkaido University and Dr. Hokuto Nagata of Hokkaido University, discovered a significant negative correlation between chronic exposure to lead poisoning and the health-related quality life of mothers. The journal Chemosphere published their findings.The health-related quality-of-life (HRQoL), is a comprehensive assessment of an individual's health and well-being. The HRQoL (health-related quality of life) of mothers has a strong influence on their children's well-being. Both positive and negative outcomes have been documented. Although it was assumed that chronic lead poisoning in children would have a negative effect on maternal HRQoL, the extent of this interrelationship has not been established.The study covered 40 randomly chosen areas in Kabwe and 25 households were tested in each. The scientists analyzed data from blood samples, a health survey SF-36 and an economic survey KHSS 2017, and performed statistical analyses to identify significant relationships between the three factors.Scientists found significant negative associations between blood lead levels (BLLs), of children in Kabwe, and HRQoL scores their mothers, regardless of blood lead levels. Particularly, the impact on mental health and vitality was felt. Studies in the past suggested that lead exposure can cause behavior problems in children. This could explain the negative effects on mothers' vitality that were found in this study. The HRQoL scores were affected by socio-economic and maternal factors, but only in certain areas, not like children's BLLs. The BLLs of children were also significantly higher than those of their parents.The main limitation of this study was the fact that not all 1000 households could provide data for all parameters. In fact, only 404 households provided sufficient data to allow us to analyse them. Future research must examine the relationships between household incomes and HRQoL scores on a larger scale.Hokuto Nakata says that "urgent medical intervention for children with high BLL in Kabwe combined with environmental remediation would not only improve their health, but also increase the HRQoL mothers."
