Evaluation of Blood Lead Levels in Iranian Children: A Systematic Review

Background and Objectives: Exposure to lead and its effects on children's health is one of the most important and widespread concerns of human societies today. Therefore, the purpose of this systematic study was to evaluate blood lead levels in Iranian children. Materials and Methods: In this systematic review, PubMed, Scopus, Science Direct, Scientific Information Database (SID), and Iran Medex databases were comprehensively searched for papers published from 2005 to the end of October 2021. Studies that reported blood lead levels in Iranian children were collected. Then the articles were evaluated according to a pre-prepared checklist. Results: Of a total of 143 articles found in the initial search, 13 studies were included in our systematic review. The lowest and highest mean blood lead levels were 0.65 micrograms per deciliter in Abadan and 57.1 micrograms per deciliter in Mashhad, respectively. In three studies conducted in Mashhad and Isfahan, blood lead levels were reported to be higher than 5 Micrograms per deciliter in all children studied. The level of education of the father, the use of canned food, the habit of eating soil by the child, damage to the paint of the house, and the reduction of blood iron levels were the effective factors in increasing the blood lead levels in Iranian children. Conclusion: Due to the high prevalence of blood lead samples above 5 micrograms per deciliter in some studies, reducing the exposure to lead should be seriously pursued by health policy makers and health systems. Key words: Blood lead levels, Children, Iran, Systematic review Funding: This study did not have any funds. Conflict of interest: None declared. Ethical approval: None applicable. How to cite this article: Ghaffarian Bahraman Ali, Rezaeian Mohsen. Evaluation of Blood Lead Levels in Iranian Children: A Systematic Review. J Rafsanjan Univ Med Sci 2022; 21 (02): 221-44. [Farsi]