According to USA Today, the report, issued by the University of Cincinnati, said that elementary school aged children are especially affected when exposed to lead because it interferes with normal cognitive development. Another study of lead's affect on children conducted by the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center showed that lead exposure was harder on children at about 6 years of age than it is on toddlers.
Researchers theorize that the reason is that lead has harmful effects on cognitive function, judgment, and the ability to regulate behavior, all which are developing in children of early elementary school age. Researchers think that there is a correlation between the children's stunted development and the criminal actions they take as adults.
University of Cincinnati researchers tracked down 250 of the subjects of their study, which began 20 years ago, and found that the higher instances of lead that was found in their blood as children, the more likely they were to have been arrested, with violent crime being prevalent.
Scientists have known of the damaging effects lead can have on children for 50 years, and it has largely been phased out of use. However, it still exists in some older homes. It can also be found in household dust, drinking water, contaminated soil, lead crystal and lead-glazed pottery.
According to USA Today, it is most prevalant today among poor children who live in dilapidated homes, and especially in low-income African-American communities.
