<unk> , also known as plumbism and saturnism, is a type of metal poisoning caused by<unk>  in the body. The brain is the most sensitive. Symptoms may include abdominal pain, constipation, headaches, irritability, memory problems, infertility, and tingling in the hands and feet. It causes almost 10% of intellectual disability of otherwise unknown cause and can result in behavioral problems. Some of the effects are permanent. In severe cases, anemia, seizures, coma, or death may occur. Exposure to<unk>  can occur by contaminated air, water, dust, food, or consumer products. Children are at greater risk as they are more likely to put objects in their mouth such as those that contain<unk>  paint and absorb a greater proportion of the<unk>  that they eat. Exposure at work is a common cause of<unk>  in adults with certain occupations at particular risk. Diagnosis is typically by measurement of the blood<unk>  level. The Centers for Disease Control (US) has set the upper limit for blood<unk>  for adults at 10 µg/dl (10 µg/100 g) and for children at 3.5 µg/dl, previously before October 2021 5 µg/dl Elevated<unk>  may also be detected by changes in red blood cells or dense lines in the bones of children as seen on X-ray.<unk>  is preventable. This includes individual efforts such as removing<unk> -containing items from the home, workplace efforts such as improved ventilation and monitoring, state laws that ban the use of and national policies such as laws that ban<unk>  in products such as paint, gasoline, ammunition, wheel weights, and fishing weights reduce allowable levels in water or soil, and provide for cleanup of contaminated soil. Workers' education could be helpful as well. The major treatments are removal of the source of<unk>  and the use of medications that bind<unk>  so it can be eliminated from the body, known as chelation therapy. Chelation therapy in children is recommended when blood levels are greater than 40–45 µg/dl. Medications used include dimercaprol, edetate calcium disodium, and succimer. In 2016,<unk>  is believed to have resulted in 540,000 deaths worldwide. It occurs most commonly in the developing world. There also are numerous cases in the developed world, with there being thousands of American communities with higher<unk>  burdens than seen during the peak of the Flint water crisis. Those who are poor are at greater risk.<unk>  is believed to result in 0.6% of the world's disease burden. People have been mining and using<unk>  for thousands of years. Descriptions of<unk>  date to at least 2000 BC, while efforts to limit<unk> 's use date back to at least the 16th century. Concerns for low levels of exposure began in the 1970s with there being no safe threshold for<unk>  exposure.
Lead poisoning
Anxiety disorder
Mercury poisoning
Iron-deficiency anemia
Zinc toxicity
Malabsorption
Iron poisoning
Polyneuropathy