Objective. The aim of this research was to compare blood lead level of childbearing women near Addis Ababa-Adama highway with those who live far from it. Study Design. A comparative cross-sectional study design was used to compare blood lead levels of 40 childbearing women (study group) who lived relatively near Addis Ababa-Adama highway and other 36 childbearing women (comparative group) who lived relatively far (10 km) from the highway. Methods. In the study, women having a fertile age within 15–49 years were considered as “childbearing women.” Blood samples were collected from each group and analyzed for blood lead level comparison. Result. The study indicated significant blood lead level difference (<svg xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" style="vertical-align:-3.42938pt" id="M1" height="11.7782pt" version="1.1" viewBox="-0.0498162 -8.34882 50.7895 11.7782" width="50.7895pt"><g transform="matrix(.013,0,0,-0.013,0,0)"><path id="g113-113" d="M570 304C570 398 525 448 414 448C385 448 343 445 312 434L329 511L321 518C297 504 262 482 244 460L233 411C195 397 159 381 128 358L135 332C160 347 189 360 224 373L111 -147C97 -210 84 -218 17 -231L13 -257L254 -247L259 -218L233 -216C183 -212 177 -202 189 -142L218 -1C238 -10 266 -12 283 -12C351 3 429 48 483 105C543 168 570 242 570 304ZM482 289C482 161 380 33 304 33C278 33 248 51 233 69L303 396C326 400 352 403 369 403C428 403 482 380 482 289Z"/></g><g transform="matrix(.013,0,0,-0.013,11.342,0)"><path id="g117-91" d="M512 -3V55L134 254V256L512 456V514L75 281V230L512 -3Z"/></g><g transform="matrix(.013,0,0,-0.013,22.605,0)"><path id="g113-49" d="M241 635C89 635 35 457 35 312C35 153 89 -12 240 -12C390 -12 443 166 443 312C443 466 390 635 241 635ZM238 602C329 602 354 454 354 312C354 172 330 22 240 22C152 22 124 173 124 313S148 602 238 602Z"/></g><g transform="matrix(.013,0,0,-0.013,28.845,0)"><path id="g113-47" d="M113 -12C146 -12 170 11 170 46C170 78 146 103 114 103S58 78 58 46C58 11 82 -12 113 -12Z"/></g><g transform="matrix(.013,0,0,-0.013,31.809,0)"><use xlink:href="#g113-49"/></g><g transform="matrix(.013,0,0,-0.013,38.049,0)"><use xlink:href="#g113-49"/></g><g transform="matrix(.013,0,0,-0.013,44.289,0)"><path id="g113-50" d="M384 0V27C293 34 287 42 287 114V635C232 613 172 594 109 583V559L157 557C201 555 205 550 205 499V114C205 42 199 34 109 27V0H384Z"/></g></svg>) between the groups. The study group had higher blood lead level (34.32 ± 6.39 μg/dL) than the comparative group (8.47 ± 3.01 μg/dL). The mean blood lead level of both groups was higher than the advised blood lead concentration for a woman to avoid occupational or vocational lead exposure. Conclusion. This study concluded that blood lead level of women who lived relatively near Addis Ababa-Adama highway was significantly higher than those who lived relatively far from the road.

Daniel Haile Chercos

Haimanot Gebrehiwot Moges

Higher Blood Lead Levels among Childbearing Women in Nearby Addis Ababa-Adama Highway, Ethiopia

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Advances in Toxicology

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Table of Contents: 2016

Higher Blood Lead Levels among Childbearing Women in Nearby Addis Ababa-Adama Highway, Ethiopia