Lead Poisoning, Behavior Problems, and Violence
Lead poisoning in childhood can affect parts of the brain that control actions, mood swings, and decision making. It has been linked to criminal activities in young adults, including violence. Lead poisoning can also cause behavior problems, learning difficulties, lowered IQ, hyperactivity, and aggression, all of which can contribute to school drop out rates, school suspensions, and delinquency.
| Findings | Source(s) |
| Exposure to lead during pregnancy and lead poisoning when children are young are connected to more arrests and/or arrests for violent offenses in a study of 250 individuals that looked at them from birth to ages 19-24 years old. The more lead in a child’s blood at 6 years old, the higher are the child’s chances of being arrested for a violent crime as a young adult. | Wright JP, Dietrich KN, Ris MD, Hornung RW, Wessel SD, Lanphear BP, HO M, Rae MN. Association of prenatal and childhood blood lead concentrations with criminal arrests in early adulthood in PLoS Medicine Vol.5, No. 5, e101 2008.
Doi: 10.1371/journal.pmed.0050101 (2008) |
| Lead poisoning in children in preschool increased the amount of crime over several decades in nine countries, including the U.S. The impact of childhood lead poisoning is also seen in the increase of arrest and incarceration over these years. This study further suggests that crimes involving violence could be especially
connected to the more severe cases of childhood lead poisoning. |
Nevin R. Understanding international crime trends: the legacy of preschool lead exposure in Environmental Research, July 2007 104(3):
315-36. |
| A study of 195 inner-city teenagers over a period of 6 years found that children exposed to lead before or after birth showed more delinquent and antisocial behavior, including marijuana use. The study took into account other reasons known to affect
delinquency. |
Dietrich KN, Ris MD, Succop PA, Berger OG, Bornschein RL. Early exposure to lead and juvenile delinquency in Neurotoxicology and Teratology 2001; 23(6): 511-18. |
| A comparison of 194 delinquent children with 146 non-delinquent children found that delinquent children were four times more likely to be lead poisoned than the non-delinquent youth. This was the result even after looking at other problems that affect delinquency, including the level of parent education and
employment, single-parent households, number of children living in the home, and neighborhood crime rates. |
Needleman H, McFarland C, Ness R, Fienberg S, Tobin M. Bone lead levels in adjudicated delinquents: A case control study in Neurotoxicology and Teratology 2002; 24:
711-717. |
| The numbers of children ages 1-6 years old who were lead poisoned dramatically decreased from the late 1970’s through the early 1980’s, mainly due to gasoline with lead no longer being allowed in cars, and the laws no longer allowing the sale of paint with lead in it. The smaller amounts of lead found in children may explain the significant declines in violent crime in the 1990’s as those children became adults. The study finds that the benefits to reducing violent crimes far outweigh the costs incurred by
prohibiting the sale of gasoline with lead. |
Reyes, Jessica Wolpaw. Environmental Policy as Social Policy? The Impact of Childhood Lead Exposure on Crime in B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy 2007; Vol. 7: Iss. 1 (Contributions), Article 51. |
*Modeled after a chart developed by the Minnesota Department of Public Health
