Eur J Pediatr. 2025 Sep 5;184(9):601. doi: 10.1007/s00431-025-06433-w.
ABSTRACT
Long-term lead exposure damages the central nervous system, with chronic poisoning strongly linked to intellectual developmental disability (IDD) and disproportionately affecting children and adolescents. Using the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2021 database, this study analyzed temporal, spatial, and population-specific trends in lead-attributable IDD burden among global children/adolescents (1990-2021) and projected trends to 2040 to inform global public health strategies. GBD 2021 data characterized global, regional, and national distributions of lead-attributable IDD burden. Associations with sex, age, and Socio-Demographic Index (SDI) were evaluated via Years Lived with Disability (YLDs) and Age-Standardized YLD Rate (ASYR). Joinpoint regression quantified annual burden changes, and the Nordpred model projected 2021-2040 trends. Globally, ASYR fell from 58.088 to 38.718 per 100,000 (AAPC = -1.297%, P < 0.001), with high-SDI countries seeing a 54.0% reduction (AAPC = -2.486%) versus 32.8% in low-SDI regions. Paradoxically, low-SDI YLDs rose by 39.7%. In 2021, ASYR peaked in 15-19-year-olds at 39.906 (males) and 41.146 (females). South Asia, led by India (119.30 per 100,000), remained a high-burden hotspot. SDI correlated negatively with ASYR (ρ = -0.76, P < 0.001), with projections showing global YLDs declining to 863,352 person-years by 2040 (ASYR = 33.057).
CONCLUSION: While global progress has been made in reducing lead exposure-induced IDD, South Asia and low-SDI nations bear persistently high burdens. Strengthened international collaboration and targeted lead reduction policies are critical to advancing health equity for young people.
WHAT IS KNOWN: • Trend of the global disease burden of IDD attributed to lead exposure in the total population from 1990 to 2019.
WHAT IS NEW: • Trend of the global disease burden of IDD attributed to lead exposure in children and adolescents from 1990 to 2021, with projections up to 2040.
PMID:40913158 | DOI:10.1007/s00431-025-06433-w
