Sex- and Age-Specific Associations of Blood Lead Levels with Child Growth and Haemoglobin in Bangladesh: A Nationally Representative Study
- 1Environment and Sustainability Research Initiative, Khulna, Bangladesh
Abstract
Evidence on sex- and age-specific associations between lead levels and childhood growth remains limited. We analyzed 10,324 children aged 12-59 months from the Bangladesh Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2025 using survey-weighted multivariable linear regression to examine sex- and age-specific associations of blood lead level (BLL) with anthropometric measures and haemoglobin levels. The geometric mean BLL was 4.43 {micro}g/dL, and 66.3% of children had concentrations above the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) threshold ([≥]3.5 {micro}g/dL). Higher BLL was associated with lower height-for-age z-score (HAZ) ({beta} = -0.129, 95% CI: -0.182 to -0.076), weight-for-age z-score (WAZ) ({beta} = -0.108, 95% CI: -0.156 to -0.060), and weight-for-height z-score (WHZ) ({beta} = -0.052, 95% CI: -0.101 to -0.002). Higher BLL was also associated with lower HAZ and WAZ among boys (HAZ: {beta} = -0.114, 95% CI: -0.188 to -0.040; WAZ: {beta} = -0.113, 95% CI: -0.179 to -0.046) and girls (HAZ: {beta} = -0.150, 95% CI: -0.225 to -0.075; WAZ: {beta} = -0.104, 95% CI: -0.171 to -0.036), while higher BLL was associated with lower WHZ among boys ({beta} = -0.076, 95% CI: -0.144 to -0.007). Higher BLL was associated with lower HAZ ({beta} = -0.266, 95% CI: -0.408 to -0.125) and WAZ ({beta} = -0.206, 95% CI: -0.326 to -0.086) among boys aged 24-35 months, while among girls aged 36-59 months, corresponding estimates were -0.211 (95% CI: -0.310 to -0.113) and -0.106 (95% CI: -0.191 to -0.022). The findings suggest that longitudinal studies are needed to clarify the temporal and developmental patterns underlying these associations.
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BibTeX
@misc{patwary2026agespecific,
title = {{Sex- and Age-Specific Associations of Blood Lead Levels with Child Growth and Haemoglobin in Bangladesh: A Nationally Representative Study}},
author = {M. M. Patwary and S. Ashraf and M. A. Islam and M. H. E. M. Browning and M. L. Bell},
howpublished = {medRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.64898/2026.11.07.26367484},
url = {https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.11.07.26367484v1},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Sex- and Age-Specific Associations of Blood Lead Levels with Child Growth and Haemoglobin in Bangladesh: A Nationally Representative Study
AU - M. M. Patwary
AU - S. Ashraf
AU - M. A. Islam
AU - M. H. E. M. Browning
AU - M. L. Bell
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/07
PB - medRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.11.07.26367484
UR - https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.11.07.26367484v1
AB - Evidence on sex- and age-specific associations between lead levels and childhood growth remains limited. We analyzed 10,324 children aged 12-59 months from the Bangladesh Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2025 using survey-weighted multivariable linear regression to examine sex- and age-specific associations of blood lead level (BLL) with anthropometric measures and haemoglobin levels. The geometric mean BLL was 4.43 {micro}g/dL, and 66.3% of children had concentrations above the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) threshold ([≥]3.5 {micro}g/dL). Higher BLL was associated with lower height-for-age z-score (HAZ) ({beta} = -0.129, 95% CI: -0.182 to -0.076), weight-for-age z-score (WAZ) ({beta} = -0.108, 95% CI: -0.156 to -0.060), and weight-for-height z-score (WHZ) ({beta} = -0.052, 95% CI: -0.101 to -0.002). Higher BLL was also associated with lower HAZ and WAZ among boys (HAZ: {beta} = -0.114, 95% CI: -0.188 to -0.040; WAZ: {beta} = -0.113, 95% CI: -0.179 to -0.046) and girls (HAZ: {beta} = -0.150, 95% CI: -0.225 to -0.075; WAZ: {beta} = -0.104, 95% CI: -0.171 to -0.036), while higher BLL was associated with lower WHZ among boys ({beta} = -0.076, 95% CI: -0.144 to -0.007). Higher BLL was associated with lower HAZ ({beta} = -0.266, 95% CI: -0.408 to -0.125) and WAZ ({beta} = -0.206, 95% CI: -0.326 to -0.086) among boys aged 24-35 months, while among girls aged 36-59 months, corresponding estimates were -0.211 (95% CI: -0.310 to -0.113) and -0.106 (95% CI: -0.191 to -0.022). The findings suggest that longitudinal studies are needed to clarify the temporal and developmental patterns underlying these associations.
ER -