Leaded Gasoline Linked To The Rise Of MAGA?

A breakthrough new medical study is further illustrating the devastating long-term health effects lead can have on children. In the study, researchers show that high levels of lead absorbed in the blood can lead to reduced gene expression, a phenomenon that can cause long-term risks.

There is evidence suggesting a link between lead poisoning and paranoia, particularly in individuals with a history of early childhood exposure. While the link is not a direct cause-and-effect relationship, research indicates that lead exposure can contribute to changes in brain chemistry and development, potentially leading to increased risk of mental health problems, including paranoia.

Lead can disrupt brain function, affecting areas involved in cognitive processes, mood regulation, and decision-making. This can lead to difficulties with attention, memory, and executive function, potentially contributing to symptoms of anxiety and paranoia.

Personality Changes: Studies have shown that childhood lead exposure may be associated with changes in personality traits, including increased neuroticism (associated with negative emotionality) and decreased conscientiousness (associated with less self-control). These personality changes can further contribute to a higher risk of developing mental health issues, including paranoia.

The impact of childhood lead exposure on adult personality: Evidence from the United States, Europe, and a large-scale natural experiment.

Association of Childhood Lead Exposure With Adult Personality Traits and Lifelong Mental Health

Leaded Gasoline Exhaust Shrank IQ for Half of U.S. Adults

Childhood exposure to car exhaust from leaded gasoline has stolen a collective 824 million IQ points from more than 170 million Americans alive today, roughly half of the population, a new study suggests.

Inside the 20-year campaign to rid the world of leaded fuel.

On 9 December 1921 at a General Motors laboratory in Dayton, Ohio, chemists poured a teaspoonful of a compound called tetraethyl lead into a spasming motor.

They were hoping to stop what’s known as ‘knock’ - the wild and potentially engine-destroying vibrations that come from burning low-grade petrol.

Almost immediately after adding the tetraethyl lead, the motor began to “purr”, recounts Sharon Bertsch McGrayne in her book Prometheans in the Lab.

And so leaded petrol was born.

In the months to come, the fuel would be hailed as a breakthrough, one that would power a new generation of cars, planes and motorcycles.

There was just one problem: leaded exhaust is toxic. As leaded fuel spread to every corner of the world, it was followed by epidemics of heart disease, cancer, stroke and, most vividly, developmental delays in children.

https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/inside-20-year-campaign-rid-world-leaded-fuel

Control of Lead Sources in the United States, 1970-2017: Public Health Progress and Current Challenges to Eliminating Lead Exposure

From 1976-1980 to 2015-2016, the geometric mean blood lead level (BLL) of the US population aged 1 to 74 years dropped from 12.8 to 0.82 μg/dL, a decline of 93.6%. Yet, an estimated 500 000 children aged 1 to 5 years have BLLs at or above the blood lead reference value of 5 μg/dL established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Low levels of exposure can lead to adverse health effects. There is no safe level of lead exposure, and child BLLs less than 10 μg/dL are known to adversely affect IQ and behavior. When the exposure source is known, approximately 95% of BLLs of 25 μg/dL or higher are work-related among US adults. Despite much progress in reducing exposure to lead in the United States, there are challenges to eliminating exposure.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6522252/

Lead exposure can have serious consequences for the health of children. Exposure to very high levels of lead can severely damage the brain and central nervous system causing coma, convulsions and even death. Children who survive severe lead poisoning may be left with permanent intellectual disability and behavioural disorders. At lower levels of exposure that may have no obvious symptoms, lead can lead to a spectrum of injury across multiple body systems. In particular, lead can permanently affect children’s brain development, resulting in reduced intelligence quotient (IQ), behavioural changes including reduced attention span and increased antisocial behaviour, and reduced educational attainment. Lead exposure also causes anaemia, hypertension, renal impairment, immunotoxicity and toxicity to the reproductive organs.

There is no known safe blood lead concentration; even blood lead concentrations as low as 3.5 µg/dL may be associated with decreased intelligence in children, behavioural difficulties and learning problems

Key facts: Exposure to lead can affect multiple body systems and is particularly harmful to young children and women of child-bearing age.

Lead is distributed to the brain, liver, kidney and bones. It is stored in the teeth and bones, where it can accumulate over time. Human exposure is assessed through the measurement of lead in blood.

Lead exposure was attributed to more than 1.5 million deaths globally in 2021, primarily due to cardiovascular effects.

Lead in bone is released into blood during pregnancy and becomes a source of exposure to the developing fetus.

There is no level of exposure to lead that is known to be without harmful effects.

The harmful impacts on health from lead exposure are entirely preventable.

https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/lead-poisoning-and-health

Clinical relevance: Leaded gasoline exposure has caused lasting mental health and personality changes in millions of Americans.

Generation X experienced the greatest risks for anxiety, depression, ADHD, and personality changes. The “Lead-Crime Hypothesis” suggests a link between reduced lead exposure to falling crime rates in the 1990s. Ongoing lead risks from paint, soil, and water require stronger screening and prevention efforts.

While we’ve known for years about the physical dangers of lead exposure, we’re still learning how bad it was for us mentally. Now, new research exposes the long-term psychological consequences of lead exposure – from gasoline in particular – on one wide swath of the U.S. population.

As if Generation X didn’t have it bad enough, researchers estimate that more than half of Americans suffered dangerous levels of lead exposure in their childhood. And that exposure resulted in profound effects on their mental health, personality traits, and well-being.

Leaded Gasoline’s Lethal Legacy

Gasoline exposed kids to lead nearly every day from the mid-20th century until 1996, when regulators phased it out. Between 1960 and 1990, lead exposure exceeded modern safety thresholds for at least 170 million Americans under the age of five. For about 60 million of those children, exposure levels were three to six times higher than what we know is hazardous now.

Earlier research has shown that lead exposure – especially early in life – poses a threat to brain development, hampering cognitive functions, motor skills, and emotional regulation.

This latest research illustrates how the consequences reach far past past individual health to influence population-wide mental health and personality trends.

An Influence on Mental Health and Personality?

The research quantifies the psychological burden of lead exposure, identifying a cumulative increase of 602 million general psychopathology points across the population. That’s equivalent to a 0.13 standard deviation rise in liability to mental illness, which corresponds to an estimated 151 million additional mental disorders, including heightened risks for anxiety, depression, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The population-level symptoms of internalizing disorders – such as anxiety and depression – jumped by 0.64 standard deviations, while ADHD-related symptoms grew by 0.42 standard deviations.

In terms of personality traits, the research tied lead exposure to a 0.14 standard deviation increase in neuroticism, associated with negative emotionality, and a 0.20 standard deviation decrease in conscientiousness, reflecting less self-control and goal-oriented behavior.

The Lead-Crime Hypothesis: The consequences of lead exposure appear to be most striking among anyone born between 1966 and 1986 – Generation X – who endured peak lead levels growing up.

This paper suggests that this generation’s heightened vulnerability to mental illness and personality changes might have contributed to more far-reaching societal phenomena – such as increased demand for psychiatric care and juvenile delinquency – during their formative years.

This data backs up previous research that put forth a “Lead-Crime Hypothesis,” which linked falling crime rates in the 1990s and 2000s to less lead exposure. This theory suggests that lead abatement accounted for anywhere between a 7 percent and 28 percent of the drop in the U.S. homicide rate at the time.

Even though the last remaining countries stopped using leaded gasoline in 2021, other sources of exposure linger on. These include lead-based paints, industrial emissions, contaminated soil, and aging water infrastructure. Worldwide, an estimated 800 million children remain at risk of harmful lead exposure, particularly in underregulated areas of the world.

A Call for Action: This paper’s authors stress the need for continued vigilance and expanded lead screening, particularly for kids. They also argue for increased recognition of lead poisoning as a neurodevelopmental disorder within psychiatric diagnostic frameworks, which could pave the way for more resources for improved prevention and intervention efforts.

This research builds on prior findings that lead exposure cost the U.S. population more than 800 million IQ points, underscoring its pervasive effects on cognitive and psychological health. As a result, the authors insist on more research into the societal implications of lead exposure, including its impact on economic productivity, innovation, and public health systems.

In conclusion, the legacy of leaded gasoline – at least in the United States – represents a public health crisis with enduring side effects. The findings highlight the importance of addressing both historical and ongoing sources of lead exposure to mitigate its impact.

https://www.psychiatrist.com/news/decades-of-leaded-gasoline-tied-to-u-s-mental-health-crisis/

Lead poisoning can cause genetic damage. Studies indicate that chronic lead exposure can induce DNA damage, including DNA strand breaks, chromosomal aberrations, and alterations in gene expression. This damage can lead to various health problems, including increased risk of cancer and developmental abnormalities.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S277241662200050X

A History of Private Schools/Segregation/Evangelical Academies and Race in the American South..

Republicans have a lock on poor, less educated rural areas.

Texas Megachurch Pastor: ‘You’re Not A Christian If You Vote For A Democrat’