{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,3]],"date-time":"2026-09-03T11:17:04Z","timestamp":1788434224610,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":32,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,23]],"date-time":"2026-08-23T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1787443200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100004881","name":"Mexican Social Security Institute","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["R-2024-1306-109, R-2023-1306-083"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["R-2024-1306-109, R-2023-1306-083"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100004881","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"award":["R-2024-1306-109, R-2023-1306-083"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["R-2024-1306-109, R-2023-1306-083"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/03xddgg98","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Toxics"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Lead is a neurotoxic metal. No safe blood lead level (BLL) has been identified in children; the CDC reference value was lowered to 3.5 \u00b5g\/dL in 2021, while Mexico\u2019s regulatory threshold remains at 10 \u00b5g\/dL. Lead-glazed earthenware is the main documented source of pediatric exposure in Mexico. We studied children 0\u201315 years insured by the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) in two Jalisco municipalities: Tonal\u00e1 (n = 500), historically a ceramic-producing center, and Zapopan (n = 374), an urban area without this tradition. BLL was measured by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrophotometry, and sociodemographic, environmental, occupational, and household exposure data were collected by questionnaire and analyzed with bivariate tests and multivariable models. Median BLL was 1.16 \u00b5g\/dL in Tonal\u00e1 and 2.08 \u00b5g\/dL in Zapopan. Few children reached 5 \u00b5g\/dL (3.2% and 6.4%), roughly twice as many exceeded 3.5 \u00b5g\/dL (6.6% and 16.3%), and most exceeded 1 \u00b5g\/dL (59.4% and 93.6%). In Zapopan, household glazed earthenware use and younger age were independently associated with a higher BLL in every model; in Tonal\u00e1, paternal professional occupation was associated with a lower BLL, an exploratory finding given its small subgroup. Widespread low-level exposure at both sites supports sustained facility-level surveillance and alignment of Mexico\u2019s regulatory criterion with current reference values.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/toxics14090744","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,24]],"date-time":"2026-08-24T11:47:19Z","timestamp":1787572039000},"page":"744","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Blood Lead Levels and Associated Sociodemographic and Occupational Factors in Children from Two Mexican Communities: A Comparative Study"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0004-5610-4041","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jes\u00fas","family":"Garc\u00eda-G\u00f3mez","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Centro de Investigaci\u00f3n Biom\u00e9dica de Occidente (CIBO), Divisi\u00f3n de Inmunolog\u00eda, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS), Guadalajara 44340, Jalisco, Mexico"},{"name":"Programa de Doctorado en Ciencias Biom\u00e9dicas, Centro Universitario de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Guadalajara, Guadalajara 44340, Jalisco, Mexico"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"methodology","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"software","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"formal-analysis","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-original-draft","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"visualization","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Oscar","family":"Rodr\u00edguez-Aguirre","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Unidad de Medicina Familiar No. 93, Servicio de Medicina Familiar, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS), Tonal\u00e1 45400, Jalisco, Mexico"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jorge","family":"Ru\u00edz-Romero","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Unidad de Medicina Familiar No. 171, Servicio de Medicina Familiar, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS), Zapopan 45070, Jalisco, Mexico"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Elvia","family":"Scott-L\u00f3pez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratorio de Salud en el Trabajo, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS), Guadalajara 44340, Jalisco, Mexico"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0002-0739-8069","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Erick","family":"Becerra-I\u00f1iguez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratorio de Salud en el Trabajo, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS), Guadalajara 44340, Jalisco, Mexico"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4539-8537","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mar\u00eda","family":"Espinel-Berm\u00fadez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Unidad de Investigaci\u00f3n Biom\u00e9dica 02, Centro M\u00e9dico Nacional de Occidente, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS), Guadalajara 44340, Jalisco, Mexico"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3061-521X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Arnulfo","family":"Nava-Zavala","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Unidad de Investigaci\u00f3n Epidemiol\u00f3gica y en Servicios de Salud, Centro M\u00e9dico Nacional de Occidente, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS), Guadalajara 44340, Jalisco, Mexico"},{"name":"Programa Internacional de Medicina, Universidad Aut\u00f3noma de Guadalajara, Zapopan 45129, Jalisco, Mexico"},{"name":"Departamento de Inmunolog\u00eda y Reumatolog\u00eda del Hospital General de Occidente, Secretar\u00eda de Salud Jalisco, Guadalajara 45170, Jalisco, Mexico"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9288-4824","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Adriana","family":"Aguilar-Lemarroy","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Unidad de Investigaci\u00f3n Epidemiol\u00f3gica y en Servicios de Salud, Centro M\u00e9dico Nacional de Occidente, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS), Guadalajara 44340, Jalisco, Mexico"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"conceptualization","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"validation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-review-editing","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"funding-acquisition","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"supervision","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Augusto","family":"Sarralde-Delgado","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"\u00d3rgano Operativo de Administraci\u00f3n Desconcentrada Jalisco, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Guadalajara 44340, Jalisco, 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