The impact of early postnatal lead exposure measured at age 4 on children's IQ and academic achievement at and 11 years of age was examined. The sample consisted of 278 inner-city, primarily African American children who were polydrug exposed prenatally. Regression analyses indicated a linear effect of lead exposure on outcomes and no moderating effects of polydrug exposure. An IQ loss of about 4.1–5.4 Full Scale IQ points was estimated for each 10 µg/dL increase in blood lead level at ages 4, 9, and 11 years as a function of blood lead level at age 4.

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