However, a recent study has crossed the age gap. Exposure to lead, at any age, has been linked to a 50% increase in a person's risk of developing Parkinson's Disease and ALS. This study, published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, looked at and compared multiple different studies that looked at the connection between lead and patients diagnosed with these diseases. The researchers also broke down the data and summarized the increase in patient diagnoses based on the reported numbers by physicians across the United States. This is what is called a meta-analysis, and is a common scientific tool used to find general trends in an overall population.
Meta-analysis looks at published data, and those are the numbers the researchers used when writing up their conclusions. Since this is the case, the authors call for more studies to find this increased risk of Parkinson's Disease and ALS from lead exposure in unpublished data to confirm their findings. This could confirm these findings, and potentially even increase the percentage risk.
New studies constantly come out linking exposure to lead to an increased risk of all kinds of diseases and health problems. Lead exposure is a public health crisis that demands constant attention from all different professional spheres. From the media who expose the issues to the public, onto the scholars that conduct the research to find solutions and put facts behind the observations. This study is one of many articles focused on addressing the growing but fixable problem of lead exposure in modern society.
For more information on this study, here is the link: https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__cirrus.mail-2Dlist.com_leadnet_89225652.html&d=DwMFaQ&c=nE__W8dFE-shTxStwXtp0A&r=bFMt9l4A51D2s0jXkOwKCg&m=gqB86Za9gJ9SVivchI7t8ja75UX54hCzCSKTYADagKw&s=QKjpL5gmKQFD7dZZi815zvrSTQfuf_uL_XhhUClHoFw&e=
