OCCUPATIONAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURE TO LEAD AND PAGETS-DISEASE OFBONE

This paper reports an association between lead exposure and Paget's di sease of bone. Detailed interviews of occupational or environmental ex posure to lead established this association in 44 of 48 male patients, i.e., in 92% of the total number of patients or in all patients who w ere interviewed. Life-long occupational and environmental histories we re also obtained from two other categories of patients with Paget's di sease: from a small number of females with this disease and from affec ted relatives of patients with Paget's disease. Paget's disease in fam ily members has been reported by others to be linked to genetic factor s. The histories of the small number of these two categories of patien ts with Paget's disease; the females and the family members, revealed occupational or environmental exposure to a toxic substance, primarily to lead, in the past. This presentation also hypothesizes that lead-e xposure is the basis for hyperparathyroidism, which coexists in patien ts with Paget's disease of bone. It also deals with the attempted corr elation of lead contamination in different areas and the prevalence of Paget's disease.