The Risk Factors of Child Lead Poisoning in China: A Meta-Analysis

BACKGROUND To investigate the risk factors of child lead poisoning in China. METHODS A document retrieval was performed using MeSH (Medical subject heading terms) and key words. The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) was used to assess the quality of the studies, and the pooled odd ratios with a 95% confidence interval were used to identify the risk factors. We employed Review Manager 5.2 and Stata 10.0 to analyze the data. Heterogeneity was assessed by both the Chi-square and I² tests, and publication bias was evaluated using a funnel plot and Egger's test. RESULTS Thirty-four articles reporting 13,587 lead-poisoned children met the inclusion criteria. Unhealthy lifestyle and behaviors, environmental pollution around the home and potential for parents' occupational exposure to lead were risk factors of child lead poisoning in the pooled analyses. Our assessments yielded no severe publication biases. CONCLUSIONS Seventeen risk factors are associated with child lead poisoning, which can be used to identify high-risk children. Health education and promotion campaigns should be designed in order to minimize or prevent child lead poisoning in China.