The Relationship between Children’s Blood Lead Level and Postural Stability

Children, especially younger, are recognized as very susceptible to environmental lead exposure. In order to assess the effect of lead on spontaneous postural sway, we studied 327 children 4-13 years old, living in 4 cities in Upper Silesia an industrial region of Poland. Lead concentration in blood was measured by absorption atomic spectrometry (AAS) and posturography was performed using CATSYS 2000 – SWAY 7.0 equipment. Children’s postural sway characteristics decreased with age. Particular variables had higher values for boys than girls and were positively associated with blood lead levels. There was an association between postural sway characteristics and smoking habits of mother, usage of aminoglycosides and paracetamol. Posturography seems to be a useful tool for assessment of lead exposure effects on the nervous system at low blood lead lev-els.