RIYADH, 15 August 2004 — The Prince Salman Center for Disability Research (PSCDR) is conducting a study to assess the effects of prenatal and postnatal lead exposure upon infants living in Al-Kharj.

Dr. Michael Nester, a scientist at the Environmental Health Section at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center and the principal investigator of the project, said, “Lead is very toxic. Even at a low dose it may cause behavioral problems and neurological impairment in children exposed before birth and or during early childhood.”

He added that it is important to know the extent to which low dose lead toxicity may affect the neuropsychological ability of Saudi children. “Hence, the primary aim of the project is to assess the effect of prenatal and postnatal lead exposure upon early cognitive development of infants at the age of 6, 12, 18 and 24 months,” he said.

In the project, called “Longitudinal study of prenatal and postnatal lead exposure and early cognitive development in Al-Kharj,” lead will be measured in 1,000 umbilical cord blood samples collected from healthy pregnant women. A sample of 210 infants will be classified, based on their blood lead levels, into low, medium and high lead exposure risk groups.

Developments will be assessed semiannually beginning at age 6, 12, 18 and 24 months. A detailed questionnaire will be administered to identify risk factors. Findings of the study are expected to help develop behavioral and dietary interventions as well as public health policy to reduce the adverse effects of lead exposure.

“The researchers have not yet recruited patients but from previous experience, patients are generally cooperative as long as they are informed about the purpose of the study,” Waleed Al-Deaigy, PSCDR assistant executive director for public relations and media affairs, told Arab News.

He said there was no documented history of lead poisoning in Saudi Arabia. However, the first suspected case was reported in 1967 following the use of “Santrinj” as a teething powder and “bint dahab” for colic. In 1983, another group identified six cases of lead poisoning in infants aged 10-30 months which were using locally prepared teething powders known as “Saoott” and “Cebagin” that contain 51 percent lead.

Besides Dr. Nester, others involved in the project are Iman Al-Saleh, Abdullah Rabah, Gama Edin Mohamed, Carolyn Schroeder and Lina Moncari.