North Carolina Child Blood Lead Levels and Test Scores

A linked dataset combines blood lead surveillance, end-of-grade reading and math test scores, and birth certificate records for children in North Carolina. The data was compiled by the Children's Environmental Health Initiative at Rice University for research on environmental health impacts. Access is restricted due to personally identifiable information.

Use Cases

• Analyze the relationship between blood lead levels and standardized test scores in reading and mathematics.
• Study demographic factors from birth certificates as potential confounders for lead exposure and cognitive development outcomes.
• Investigate patterns of lead poisoning prevalence across different child cohorts identified by the common child identifier.

Strengths

• Integrates three distinct administrative data sources (blood lead, test scores, birth records) into a single linked resource.
• Data linkage was performed using a common child identifier created specifically for matching purposes.
• Managed by a research initiative (CEHI) focused on children's environmental health.

Limitations

• Individual-level data is not publicly accessible due to privacy restrictions, requiring a formal access request.
• The specific temporal coverage, sample size (row count), and number of variables (columns) are not disclosed in the available metadata.
• Data freshness is unclear as the last platform update was in 2020, though underlying data may be older.

Provenance

Source

Children's Environmental Health Initiative (CEHI) at Rice University, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Collection Method

Administrative records from the NC Lead Poisoning Prevention Program, NC Education Research Data Center, and NC Department of Health and Human Services, linked by CEHI.

Time Range

null

Freshness

null

Geography

North Carolina, United States