• M del Carmen S Sánchez-Villegas, Astrid Cortés-Vargas, Ricardo Gerardo Hidalgo-Luna, David Abraham Alam-Escamilla, Víctor Manuel Vargas-García, and Jorge Loría-Castellanos.
• Servicio de Urgencias Pediátricas y Centro de Información y Asistencia Toxicológica, Hospital General, Centro Médico Nacional La Raza, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Distrito Federal, México. minitoxx@gmail.com.
• Rev Med Inst Mex Seguro Soc. 2014 Jan 1; 52 (1): 20-7.

BackgroundAttention deficit hyperactivity disorder is the most common neuropsychiatric disorder in children; symptoms can persist into adult life by 60 %. Our objective was to quantify the levels of lead in blood and urine in pediatric patients with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.MethodsWe did an observational study which included a captive population of children diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in the mental health service of Hospital General, from Centro Médico Nacional La Raza. Lead levels were determined in blood and urine by atomic absorption technique.ResultsWe included 39 patients, 932 % male, with a mean age of 9.2 ± 2.16 years. The deficit and hyperactivity disorder combined type was the most frequent (69.2 %); 49 % of patients were found with toxic lead levels in blood (above 10 mg/dL); 17.9 % with stage III and 5.12 % with stage IV, according to the Mexican Official Standard (NOM-199-SSA-2000). Significant association was found between blood lead levels and the clinical expression of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.ConclusionsLevels of lead exposure during early childhood have been shown to be inversely proportional to neurological development in the first seven years of life. Data results are insufficient to relate them with causality.

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