Second-Trimester Lead in Baby Teeth Linked to Weaker Late-Life Cognition in Women

Overview

• Higher second-trimester tooth lead correlated with lower composite cognitive scores in women, with each 1 ppm tied to a 0.16 SD drop, roughly equivalent to three additional years of aging.
• Sex-specific results showed significant associations in women but not in men, which investigators cautioned may reflect methodological limits or selection bias rather than no effect.
• Links were not significant for third-trimester or early postnatal lead exposure, pointing to a critical window during mid-pregnancy in this cohort.
• The study analyzed 715 participants from the St. Louis Baby Tooth—Later Life Health Study using laser ablation mass spectrometry and adjusted for socioeconomic factors and maternal smoking.
• Authors and an accompanying editorial highlighted public-health implications, including potential contributions to dementia risk and the need to prevent ongoing lead exposures seen in incidents like Flint and recent contaminated applesauce.