Examining the relationship between blood lead level and stunting, wasting and underweight- A cross-sectional study of children under 2 years-of-age in a Bangladeshi slum

Elevated blood lead level (BLL) is known to cause cardiac, immune, and cognitive damage but had not been thoroughly studied in relation to stunting among children under two years of age. We primarily aimed to assess the relationship between elevated BLL, the accumulation of concerned amount of the metal lead in blood and stunting and secondarily-wasting and underweight amongst Bangladeshi children less than two years of age. For this cross-sectional study, BLL measurements, anthropometric data, and socioeconomic indicator information were collected and analyzed for 729 children under two years of age upon enrollment in the MAL-ED study conducted in a Bangladeshi slum area. Univariate, bivariate and multivariate analyses were carried out to observe the proportion and mean and contribution of…