Evaluation of Serum Lead Levels in Children with Constipation and Normal Controls in Northern Iran

OBJECTIVE: Constipation is a major debilitating problem in children. We aimed to assess the serum lead levels of 2-13 year-old children complaining from constipation who referred to our center in Guilan province, Northern Iran. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was done on ninety 2-13 year-old children referring to 17(th) Shahrivar Hospital, complaining from constipation (case group) and 90 healthy children The demographic data as well as the children's serum lead levels were evaluated and recorded. Data were analyzed using SPSS software. Chi-square test was used as applicable. FINDINGS: Lead poisoning was significantly more frequent in the case group (37.8%) compared with the control group (8.9%). The frequency of lead poisoning in the case group compared with the control group, was significantly higher in children <7 years old (40.2% vs. 10%), boys (40.9% vs. 9.3%), girls (34.8% vs 8.3%), residents of old houses (43.1% vs. 9.7%), residents of new houses (28.1% vs. 8.5%), residents of low-traffic areas (26.8% vs. 5.3%), urban residents (40.5% vs. 9.9%), children whose fathers had low risk (33.3% vs. 10.9%) and high risk jobs (40.7% vs. 3.8%). CONCLUSION: The frequency of lead poisoning was higher in children suffering from constipation.No significant difference was found between the two groups with respect to their sex, age, father's job, and living in urban or rural areas.