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Maine
Statistics on children, youth and families in Maine from the Annie E. Casey Foundation and the Maine Children's Alliance
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Why This Indicator Matters
According to the National Center for Disease Control and Prevention, protecting children from exposure to lead is important to lifelong good health. There is no safe level of lead in a person’s blood. Even low levels of lead in blood have been shown to affect IQ, ability to pay attention, and academic achievement. The most important step parents, doctors, and others can take is to prevent lead exposure before it occurs. CDC Fact Sheet on elevated lead levels in children
Maine law implemented in June 2019 requires blood lead tests for all children at 1 and 2 years of age. The latest federal CDC guidelines reduced the blood reference value (BLRV)—the measure used to determine when interventions are needed—from 5 μg/dL to 3.5 μg/dL as even lower levels are now understood as unsafe.
For 2021, Oxford County achieved the highest level of lead screenings at 75.7% of children ages 12- 24 months. Two other counties – Franklin (72.2%) and Cumberland (70.0%) had rates at or above 70% of children in the age group. Counties with rates under 50% for lead screening for children ages 12 months to 24 months were Piscataquis, (21.6%), and Waldo (42.5%).
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Maine law implemented in June 2019 requires blood lead tests for all children at 1 and 2 years of age. The latest federal CDC guidelines reduced the blood reference value (BLRV)—the measure used to determine when interventions are needed—from 5 μg/dL to 3.5 μg/dL as even lower levels are now understood as unsafe.
- What the data shows:
For 2021, Oxford County achieved the highest level of lead screenings at 75.7% of children ages 12- 24 months. Two other counties – Franklin (72.2%) and Cumberland (70.0%) had rates at or above 70% of children in the age group. Counties with rates under 50% for lead screening for children ages 12 months to 24 months were Piscataquis, (21.6%), and Waldo (42.5%).
Definition and Source
PROVIDER
Definition
Children can be given a blood test to measure the level of lead in their blood. This measure shows the number and percent of lead screenings for children ages 12 -24 months as that is the recommended time for the screening. For percent of screenings, the numerator is the estimated number of children ages 12 -24 month who received lead screenings and the denominator is the number of children ages 12 -24 months. Note that a blood lead test is considered a "screening test" only when a child has no prior history of a confirmed blood lead at or above 5 micrograms per deciliter (ug/dL).
Notes
The latest federal CDC guidelines reduced the blood reference value (BLRV)—the measure used to determine when interventions are needed—from 5 μg/dL to 3.5 μg/dL as even lower levels are now understood as unsafe, however, the data posted to the Maine Tracking Network through 2021 does not use this newer threshold.
Last Updated
May 2023