Health Highlight Report for San Juan County
Lead Exposure - Children Under Age Three Years with Confirmed Elevated Blood Lead Levels: Percentage of Children With Elevated Blood Lead, 2014
San Juan County1.8 95% Confidence Interval(0.83 - 2.77)Description of the Confidence IntervalThe confidence interval indicates the range of probable true values for the level of risk in the community.
A value of "DNA" (Data Not Available) will appear if the confidence interval was not published with the IBIS indicator data for this measure.
Statistical StabilityStableDescription of Statistical Stability
- Stable = This count or rate is relatively stable and should provide a good estimate of your community risk.
- Unstable = This count or rate is statistically unstable (RSE >0.30), and may fluctuate widely due to random variation (chance).
- Very Unstable = This count or rate is extremely unstable (RSE >0.50). This value should not be used to represent your population risk. You should combine years or otherwise increase the population denominator in this calculation.
- DNA = Data Not Available. The required community value and/or confidence interval was not available for this measure.
New Mexico0.86 U.S. DNADNA=Data not available.
San Juan County Compared to State
Description of Dashboard Gauge
Description of the Dashboard GaugeThis "dashboard" type graphic is based on the community data on the right. It compares the community value on this indicator to the state overall value.
The community value is considered statistically significantly different from the state value if the state value is outside the range of the community's 95% confidence interval. If the community's data or 95% confidence interval information is not available, a blank gauge image will be displayed with the message, "missing information."NOTE: The labels used on the gauge graphic are meant to describe the community's status in plain language. The placement of the gauge needle is based solely on the statistical difference between the community and state values. When selecting priority health issues to work on, a community should take into account additional factors such as how much improvement could be made, the U.S. value, the statistical stability of the community number, the severity of the health condition, and whether the difference is clinically significant.
- Excellent = The community's value on this indicator is BETTER than the state value, and the difference IS statistically significant.
- Watch = The community's value is BETTER than state value, but the difference IS NOT statistically significant.
- Improvement Needed = The community's value on this indicator is WORSE than the state value, but the difference IS NOT statistically significant.
- Reason for Concern = The community's value on this indicator is WORSE than the state value, and the difference IS statistically significant.
Why Is This Important?Environmental lead is a common toxic metal, present in all areas of the United States. Lead exposure and lead poisoning are preventable. Lead exposure can adversely affect nearly every organ and system in the body, including the nervous, blood, hormonal, kidney, and reproductive systems. Children are more vulnerable to lead poisoning than adults. Children from all social and economic levels can be affected. The bodies of young children absorb lead more readily than adults. During the first three years of life, children's brains are growing the fastest, developing the critical connections in the nervous system that control thought, learning, hearing, movement, behavior, and emotions. The normal behaviors of children at this age, such as crawling, exploring, teething, and putting objects in their mouth, put them at an increased risk for lead exposure. Even blood lead levels lower than 5 micrograms per deciliter (mcg/dL) may be associated with negative outcomes for children, such as cognitive impairment and learning disabilities, delayed development, changes in behavior, kidney problems and anemia. There is no known safe level of exposure to lead. The state requires all children enrolled in Medicaid be tested for lead exposure at ages 12 months and 24 months.
Relevant Population Characteristics:
- Lead Exposure - Children Born in the Same Year and Tested for Lead Before Age Three Years
- New Mexico Population Demographics - Homes Built Before 1950
- New Mexico Population - Poverty Among Children Under Age 5
Health Status Outcomes:
NoteElevated blood lead levels are confirmed by either one elevated venous test result or two elevated capillary or unknown specimen test results less than 12 weeks apart. Childhood Blood Lead Surveillance data are not randomly sampled or representative of the population. Number and percent of children tested with confirmed elevated blood lead levels cannot be interpreted as prevalence or incidence for the population. Approximately 5% of children were missing county of residence information; therefore some county-level percentages could change if unknown county data is identified. The US measure includes data from the 34 states reporting high quality data to the National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network, including Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming from 2007.
Data SourcesNew Mexico Department of Health Blood Lead Database. U.S. Data Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program
Measure Description for Lead Exposure - Children Under Age Three Years with Confirmed Elevated Blood Lead Levels
Definition: The percentage of children born in the same year and tested before age three years with confirmed elevated blood lead levels (10 micrograms per deciliter - mcg/dL) is the number of children born in the same year and tested for lead exposure prior to the age of three years with confirmed elevated blood lead levels divided by the number of children born in the same year and tested for lead before age three years.
Numerator: Number of NM resident children born in the same year and tested for lead exposure prior to the age of three years with a blood lead level of 10 micrograms per deciliter (mcg/dL) or higher which was confirmed by a venous test or two capillary tests less than 12 weeks apart.
Denominator: Number of NM resident children born in the same year who were tested for lead exposure prior to the age of three years.