Lead Environmental Pollution and Childhood Lead Poisoning at Ban Thi Commune, Bac Kan Province, Vietnam.

Lead poisoning is a public health problem in many areas of the world. Children are at particularly high risk for adverse effects of lead exposure; even at low concentrations, lead can affect physical, mental, and behavioral development. Children living near lead-zinc mines are at high risk for environmental lead poisoning, especially the contaminated soil. We conducted a cross-sectional descriptive study in Ban Thi Commune, northern Vietnam. 195 children (92,9% participation) aged 3-14 years old (average: 7.69 ± 2.90) were randomly selected from a list of all children prepared by the village health collaborators. 109 (55.90%) were boys and 86 (44.10%) were girls. The research measures were the lead concentration in native soil and the children's total blood lead concentration determined by the inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) method. The results showed that lead content in soil was many times higher than American Environmental Protection Agency and Vietnam standards (average 2980.23 ± 6092.84 mg/kg dry weight of soil (range 80.05 - 33820.62)). Average blood lead levels for children were 15.42 ± 6.45 µg/dL (95% CI: 14.50 -16.33 µg/dL). The percentage of children with lead levels >10 µg/dL (value considered to be lead poisoning for children according to the Ministry of Health of Vietnam) was 79.49% of the total number of children. None of the children in this study had blood lead level (BLL) that required chelation treatment according to Vietnam MOH guideline (BLL ≥45 µg/dL). There is weakly evidence that lead exposure relates to the physical development of children. Children with low lead concentrations (less than 10 µg/dL) had height and weight of 1.47-3.51 cm and 1.19-2.81 kg, greater than those with BLL >10 µg/dL (p>0.05).

Trends in Second-Hand Tobacco Smoke Exposure Levels at Home among Viet Nam School Children Aged 13-15 and Associated Factors.

Second-hand tobacco smoke (SHS) exposure at home, especially among children, is a serious issue in Viet Nam. During the past decade, much effort has been taken for tobacco control in the country, including various prgorammes aiming to reduce SHS exposure among adults and children. This article analysed trends and factors associated with SHS exposure at home among school children aged 13-15 in Viet Nam, using the Global Youth Tobacco Surveys conducted in 2007 and 2014. Descriptive and inferential statistical methods with logistic regression were applied. Overall, there was a significant reduction in the level of exposure, from 58.5% (95%CI: 57.6-59.3) in 2007 to 47.1% (95%CI: 45.4-48.8) in 2014. Of the associated factors, having one or both parents smoking was significantly associated with the highest odds of SHS exposure at home (OR=5.0; 95%CI: 4.2-6.1). Conversely, having a mother with a college or higher education level was found to be a protective factor (OR=0.5; 95%CI: 0.3-0.8).

ISAAC-based asthma and atopic symptoms among Ha Noi school children.

Childhood asthma and atopy prevalence patterns in the developing world are only beginning to be defined. No such information exists for Vietnam. Estimates would assist in anticipating health service needs as well as add to the growing database on global patterns of atopy. To estimate the prevalence of atopic symptoms in school children in Ha Noi, Vietnam, a cross-sectional survey was conducted of children aged 5- to 11-years-old in two schools using the parent self-administered International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) questionnaire. The response rate was 66.4% (969 responses). The overall prevalence of selected symptoms were: 'ever wheezed' 24.9%, 'wheezed in past 12 months' 14.9%, 'ever had asthma' 12.1%, 'doctor-diagnosed asthma' 13.9%, 'ever experienced allergic rhinitis (AR) symptoms' 34.9%, 'AR-conjunctivitis symptoms in past 12 months' 10.7%, 'ever had hay fever' 7.8%, 'doctor-diagnosed hay fever' 11.2%, 'ever had eczema' 3.3% and 'doctor-diagnosed eczema' 3.2%. Kappa statistics demonstrated high within symptom category consistency for 'ever had asthma/doctor-diagnosed asthma' (0.728) and 'ever had eczema/doctor-diagnosed eczema' (0.906). Age and gender adjusted odds ratios (OR) were also consistently significant across wheeze and allergic rhinitis symptom categories [highest OR = 10.10 (95% CI 6.23-16.35) between allergic rhinoconjunctivitis and wheeze in past 12 months]. There is a high prevalence of ISAAC-based symptoms in school children in Ha Noi, Vietnam, often above global averages. The high level of association between atopic symptoms suggests some degree of reliability and validity. Childhood atopy symptom prevalence in Vietnam is more similar to that in developed countries rather than developing countries.