Abstract
WHAT IS ALREADY KNOWN ABOUT THIS TOPIC? Environmental and occupational lead exposure has generally declined in the past two decades. However, there is no large-scale monitoring of blood lead levels (BLLs) in the Chinese general population. WHAT IS ADDED BY THIS REPORT? This nationally representative study showed declines of BLLs in all ages of participants; for children aged 3-5 years, down from 78.1 μg/L to 16.9 μg/L, corresponding to 78.4% decrease in the past two decades (2000-2018). WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR PUBLIC HEALTH PRACTICE? Recommendations for elevated BLLs on screening children at high risk now need to be revisited and updated from 100 μg/L to 50 μg/L in guidelines to conform with the substantial declines in China.