As lead levels decline in American Indians’ blood, heart health benefits rise
The National Institutes of Health reports lower blood lead levels in American Indians has resulted in major heart health benefits. Photo courtesy of Bru-nO/Pixabay
A decade-long decline in the lead levels of American Indians’ blood has resulted in reduced blood pressure and heart failure, new research from the National Institutes of Health revealed Thursday.
“This is a huge win for public health, especially since many American Indians can face higher risks for elevated lead levels,” said Anne E. Nigra, Ph.D., the senior study author and an assistant professor of environmental health sciences at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, New York City said in a release from the NIH. “Compared to the general U.S. population, American Indian communities experience both a higher burden of cardiovascular disease and elevated metal exposure. We saw that even small decreases in a person’s blood lead levels can have meaningful health outcomes.”
Besides lower blood pressure and reduced risk of heart attack, the research also shows that reduced blood lead levels in American Indians have also resulted in more long-term cardiovascular health benefits and a reduced incidence of what is called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a condition that affects the left ventricle, which is the heart’s main pumping chamber.
The research shows adults who had the largest lead reduction levels in their blood saw a 7 mm Hg decline in their blood pressure, which is equivalent to being on blood pressure medication, the report said.
Beyond the major health implications for Indigenous adults, the research shows children will benefit from lower lead levels in their communities, too.
“Lead exposure is known to harm the health of children by damaging the brain and nervous system and slowing growth and development,” the NIH said in a press release announcing the news. “It has also been associated with increased risks for heart disease in adults.”
Lead levels in the blood are typically associated with high lead levels in drinking water, but the NIH said in the report that people are also exposed to lead through local waterways, foods, including canned goods, herbs, and spices, as well as paint and dust.
The NIH said the research was done in conjunction with 285 American Indian adults in the Strong Heart Family Study, an extension of the Strong Heart Study, the largest and longest study of cardiovascular health outcomes and risk factors among American Indian adults.
Participants lived in one of four tribal communities in Arizona, Oklahoma, North Dakota, or South Dakota, where health officials worked to educated American Indians about the dangers of lead in the water and with local entities to remove it.
“This is a sign that policies and awareness and education campaigns in these communities to reduce blood lead levels are working,” said Mona Puggal, M.P.H., an epidemiologist in the Division of Cardiovascular Sciences at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI). “The reductions in blood pressure are comparable to improvements one sees with lifestyle changes, such as getting 30 minutes of daily exercise, reducing salt intake, or losing weight.”
The findings were published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.