Prevalence of elevated blood lead levels and evaluation of a lead-risk-screening questionnaire in rural Minnesota.

* Lead exposure at blood lead levels below 10 [micro]g/dL has been found to adversely affect IQ scores and cognitive development and behavior in young children.

* Lead poisoning is often considered an inner-city problem; therefore, little screening is done in many rural areas.

* Nevertheless, these areas frequently have a high percentage of old homes and children living in poverty, two of the major risk factors for lead poisoning.

* A study was designed to examine blood lead trends in all children under four years of age in a rural three-county area of western Minnesota.

* Confirmed elevated lead levels in this area were lower than those found by the most recent National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

* The study also sought to test the validity of a screening survey in rural Minnesota.

* The survey questions with sensitivities greater than 50 percent for predicting confirmed blood lead levels above 10 [micro]g/dL were as follows:

--Has the child spent time in pre-1950 housing? (86 percent),

--Has the child spent time in a pre-1978 home with remodeling or damage? (71 percent),

--Has the child or sibling had an elevated blood lead level? (57 percent),

--Has the respondent received medical assistance or WIC assistance? (71 percent), and

--Does the house contain lead plumbing or solder? (86 percent).

* Results from the survey indicated that most of the children in the area should receive a blood lead test according to both state and CDC guidelines.

* Lead-poisoning risk in rural areas is more difficult to identify geographically than in urban areas.

* Therefore, a large majority of children will continue to require blood lead testing in rural areas that have a high percentage of old homes and children in low-income families.

* CDC guidelines set 10 [micro]g/dL as the level of concern for blood lead levels.

* But recent research has increased concern over effects of lead in children at lower levels.

This department, Practical Stuff! originated from you, our readers. Many of you have expressed to us that one of the main reasons you read the Journal of Environmental Health is to glean practical and useful information for your everyday work-related activities. In response to your feedback, we dedicate this section to you with salient points to remember about two to three articles in each issue.