Tehran University of Medical Sciences Iranian Journal of Public Health 2251-6085 49 8 2020 07 30 1510 1519 EN Mohsen VIGEH Maternal, Fetal, and Neonatal Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran AND Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health, Faculty of Medicine, Juntendo University, Tokyo, Japan Kazuhito YOKOYAMA Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health, Faculty of Medicine, Juntendo University, Tokyo, Japan Takehisa MATSUKAWA Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health, Faculty of Medicine, Juntendo University, Tokyo, Japan Atsuko SHINOHARA Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health, Faculty of Medicine, Juntendo University, Tokyo, Japan Katsumi OHTANI Occupational Epidemiology Research Group, National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, Kawasaki, Japan Mamak SHARIAT Maternal, Fetal, and Neonatal Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran 2018 08 04 2018 12 15 Background: Exposure to toxic metals remains a public health problem with lifelong impacts on childhood growth and development. We aimed to investigate metals effects on preschool children’s anthropometric variables. Methods: The study was conducted in Tehran, Iran, from Jul 2013 to Mar 2016. We measured scalp hair metal concentrations (lead, cadmium, arsenic, zinc, manganese, and cobalt), using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, in 207 preschool children’s (36 to 72 months old). Results: A significant negative correlation between children's hair lead levels and children's weight was found (r= −0.178, P<0.05). Linear regression analysis confirmed the relationship when adjusted for the confounders, including children's age, sex, height, family income, and maternal education (β= −0.191; t= −3.426, P< 0.01). The ANOVA analysis showed a significant (P<0.01) difference between hair lead level and children's weight-for-age percentiles. Totally and separately, in almost all weight percentiles, hair lead levels were higher in girls than boys. Conclusion: The present study on Iranian children showed the current levels of lead exposure might negatively influence on children growth, with higher risk for girls than boys. https://ijph.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijph/article/view/14347 https://ijph.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijph/article/download/14347/6945