Children in federally assisted housing have lower blood lead levels than expected

According to a new study in the American Journal of Public Health, U.S. children living in federally assisted housing have lower blood lead levels than comparable children who did not receive housing assistance.

Researchers examined data for National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey respondents from 2005-2012 that were linked to 1999-2014 records from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. For households that fell within less than 2 times the national poverty threshold, they compared blood lead levels of children ages 1-5 living in assisted-housing with those of children who did not receive assisted-housing.

Results showed that in unadjusted analyses, blood lead levels for children living in federally assisted housing were not significantly different than children who did not receive housing assistance. However, after adjusting for potential confounding factors – including demographic, socioeconomic and family characteristics – children living in federally assisted housing had lower blood lead levels than their non-assisted housing counterparts.

"In a nationally representative sample of US children 1 to 5 years old in 2005 to 2012, children receiving federal housing assistance had lower blood lead levels than expected given their demographic, socioeconomic and family characteristics," the authors explain. "This study adds to the literature describing how factors related to housing conditions and stability are associated with health among U.S. children and can help inform future research."