Estimates of urinary blood lead clearance and its relationship to glomerular filtration rate based on a large population survey

ABSTRACT

Blood lead (Pb) clearance (CbPb) and serum creatinine clearance (CsCr), a metric of glomerular filtration rate (GFR), were estimated in approximately 7,600 subjects from the NHANES (2009–2016). Median CbPb in adults was 0.04 L/day (5th-95th percentile range: 0.01–0.12). Linear regression models explained approximately 68% of variance in CbPb in adults, with >98% of explained variance attributed to CsCr. These results provide an improved quantitative understanding of the possible effects of reverse causality in the interpretation of studies of associations between blood Pb and decrements in GFR.

KEYWORDS:

• Clearance
• creatinine
• glomerular filtration
• lead
• NHANES
• urine

Acknowledgments

Portions of this work were funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation (OSRTI), under Contract EP-W-09-031.

Disclaimer

The manuscript has been reviewed in accordance with EPA policy and approved for publication. Approval does not signify that contents necessarily reflect views and policies of the Agency, nor does mention of trade names or commercial products constitute endorsement or recommendation for use.