Bull. Environ. Contam. Toxicol. (1990)44:657-660 ~,Environmental 9 Contamination 9 1990 Springer-Verlag New York Inc. ~and Toxicology Lead and Childhood Propensity to Infectious and Allergic Disorders: Is There an Association? 9 Michael B. Rabinowitz, 1,2 Elizabeth N. AIIred, 2 David C. Bellinger, 2 Alan Leviton, 2 and Herbert L. Needleman 3 1Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods' Hole, Massachusetts 02543, USA; 2Neuroepidemiology Unit, Mental Retardation Research Center, Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA, and aDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, USA Lead appears to impair both antibody and cellular responses of laboratory animals to a variety of bacteria (Cook et al, 1975, Blakey and Archer, 1981, Lawrence 1981). These immunosuppresive effects of lead appear at levels below those associated with overt toxicity, and might, therefore, be present among urban children exposed to subtoxic amounts of lead. To examine the role of lead exposure on rates of infectious and allergic diseases in children, we compared the prevalence of these i11nesses in children classified by the lead level in their umbilical cord blood, and in the dentine of their deciduous teeth. Information about i11ness was obtained from a mailed questionnaire completed by parents. MATERIALS AND METHODS The base population consisted of 4354 babies born at the Boston Hospital for Women between April 1979 and April 1981. Details of this population and cord blood sampling have been published (Rabinowitz et al, 1987). During the years 1985 through 1987, 2448 deciduous teeth were submitted by 1982 children. When we received multiple teeth from a child, we used the value of first tooth in the statistical analysis. The environmental lead exposure of these children is not unusual for current urban Americans. Based on samples from a representative sub-group of 249 infants, the median concentrations of lead in soil was 700 ug/g, indoor air 0.ii ug/M 3 , and tap water 4 ug/L. Lead paint above 1.5 mg/sq cm was round in 35 percent of their homes (Rabinowitz et al 1985). Send reprint requests to M. B. Rabinowitz, Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods' Hole, MA 02543 USA. (from 8/89 to 8/90: Graduate Institute of Public Health; National Taiwan University; 1 Jen Ai Rd. Sect. i, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China) 657