Statistical Modeling on Effects of Lead Exposure on Children

Presenter Information

Auriol Moteng, Minnesota State University - Mankato

Location

CSU Ballroom

Start Date

21-4-2014 10:00 AM

End Date

21-4-2014 11:30 AM

Student's Major

Mathematics and Statistics

Student's College

Science, Engineering and Technology

Mentor's Name

Deepak Sanjel

Mentor's Email Address

deepak.sanjel@mnsu.edu

Mentor's Department

Mathematics and Statistics

Mentor's College

Science, Engineering and Technology

Second Mentor's Name

Namyong Lee

Second Mentor's Email Address

namyong.lee@mnsu.edu

Second Mentor's Department

Mathematics and Statistics

Second Mentor's College

Science, Engineering and Technology

Description

Exposure to lead is a significant public health hazard, particularly to children since they are at an early stage of their brain development. Blood-lead levels were measured in a group of children who lived near lead smelters in some parts of US. Back in 1972, 62 children in El Paso, Texas were tested and found to have at least 40 micrograms of lead per milliliter of blood. A control group of 62 children was also identified the same year and had blood-lead levels of less than 40 micrograms per milliliter. The affected group was put into three groups according to how far away from the smelters they were living, in order to measure the significance of the effects. It was observed that there was a varied amount of blood lead levels within the groups. Also, the scores of the finger-wrist tapping tests and full-scale IQ tests seemed slightly lower in the exposed group than in the control group. Different statistical methods were used to compare groups in different situations, such as the t-test when data followed an approximately normal distribution. Otherwise, a nonparametric test was used. The aim of this research is to analyze and measure the significance of each relevant factor.