Trending Clinical Topic of the Week (November 10-16): Lead
A decision by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and a newly determined association with a potentially serious condition helped drive interest in this week's top trending clinical topic. At the very end of October, the FDA banned lead acetate from hair coloring products. Hair dye was the last cosmetic product in the United States that was allowed to have lead acetate, which had already been banned in the European Union and in Canada. Pressure from consumer groups, such as the Environmental Working Group, likely helped to influence the decision. These products were increasingly under scrutiny after a study last year found that hair product use was linked to increased breast cancer risk in black and white women.
Lead accumulation was also recently found to have an association with treatment-resistant hypertension. A study of 475 adult men found that elevated lead levels in the tibia were linked to an increased risk. Specifically, the risk for resistant hypertension was 19% higher with every 15-μg/g increase in tibia lead levels. This was independent of other important risk factors associated with the condition. Lead-related issues nearly spanned from head to toe this past week, resulting in the top trending clinical topic.
For more on lead toxicity, read here.
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Cite this: Ryan Syrek. Trending Clinical Topics for November 2018 - Medscape - Nov 30, 2018.
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