The general objective of this program project continues to be to gain a better understanding of the long-range health effect of lead (Pb) exposure, beginning at birth and continuing on into the early school years. The main emphasis of the study continues to be on the adverse neurological effects, including cognition, psychomotor performance postural balance and physical development. The implications of moderate Pb-related deficit in I.Q. seen by us and others in the preschool years for later competence need to be determined. These moderate deficits may indeed become more severe as the child faces progressively increasing challenges to his cognitive abilities, and social adjustments. Toward that end we propose to assess the intellectual attainment, academic achievement, verbal-language abilities, social adjustment and discrete aspects of neuromotor performance. As the subjects enter into school during the renewal period, it will now be possible to better assess the full impact of earlier developmental effects on social and academic performance. Toward that end neurobehavioral testing and blood lead (PbB) determinants will continue at 72 and 78 months.
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