DISTRIBUTION OF BLOOD LEAD LEVELS IN 1047 SAUDI-ARABIAN CHILDREN WITHRESPECT TO PROVINCE, SEX, AND AGE

Relationships between blood lead concentrations in 1 047 children aged 2 mo to 16 y and age, sex, and province (i.e., residence) were examin ed. The relationships were consistent with other studies, in which mea n blood lead concentrations reportedly increased during the first 5 y of life, after which began to decrease, reaching a minimum at approxim ately 16 y of age. However, boys who were more than 6 y of age had hig her blood lead concentrations than similarly aged girls. Blood lead le vels of children living in the Eastern Province were higher than level s found in children from other provinces. Most of the children in this study who had elevated blood lead concentrations resided in small tow ns, e.g., Ehssa, Abqiq, Hofouf, rather than in cities such as Dammam a nd Dahran. Factors, such as socioeconomic status and cultural habits ( e.g., diet, use of traditional remedies and cosmetics), may have contr ibuted to this result.