Annual blood lead testing

Children tested in Minnesota:

Children under age 6, and especially those aged 1 to 3, are most vulnerable to lead exposure. Testing the blood lead levels of children can help catch lead exposure before it has the most harmful effects.

Lead testing was not universal in Minnesota until recently. Children with risk factors for lead exposure (such as older housing or poverty status) have historically been targeted for testing in Minnesota. This included all children who live in Minneapolis or St. Paul and all children who receive services from Minnesota Care or Medical Assistance, as well as any child who lives in or regularly visits a home, childcare, or other building built before 1978. In the data shown here, lead testing was targeted fo children with risk factors for lead exposure. The Childhood Blood Lead Screening Guidelines for Minnesota were updated in 2022 to recommend universal screening for all children at 12 and 24 months of age.

Indicators on this page track blood lead testing by test year (annual method) – the year that the blood lead test was performed – and blood lead tests in children up to 6 years of age, unless noted otherwise. Children could appear in multiple test years as long as the child was under 6 years at the time of the test.

Children tested in Minnesota annually, by region

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Among children tested under either 6 years or 3 years of age. The Minnesota trend line is the statewide average and includes all Minnesota children. The Metro trend line includes children living in the 7-county Twin Cities metropolitan area. Source: MDH Blood Lead Information System. 

The annual percent of children under 6 years that are tested for blood lead doubled from about 10% in 2000 to over 20% in 2019. The increase was even larger for children tested under 3 years (see "<3 Years Chart" tab). 

The COVID-19 pandemic affected all aspects of health and wellness in 2020, including changes in patterns of blood lead testing. Childhood blood lead testing decreased to about 18% of children under 6 years of age in 2020 and slightly improved to 20% in 2021. 

In recent years, children in the 7-county Twin Cities metropolitan area ("Metro") were more likely to be tested than children in greater Minnesota, which represents children living in Minnesota outside of the metro.

Children tested at 1-year and 2-year well child visits in Minnesota annually

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Among children tested for blood lead. Source: MDH Blood Lead Information System.

Recently, about two thirds (66%) of children in Minnesota were tested at or around the time of their 1-year well-child visit (9-18 months) and less children were tested around the time of their 2-year well-child visit (18-36 months). Most recently, about half (53%) of children were tested around 2 years. It is important to test 2-year-olds for lead exposure. 

The COVID-19 pandemic affected all aspects of health and wellness in 2020, including changes in patterns of blood lead testing. Childhood blood lead testing decreased in 2020 and is slowly improving.

In the data shown here, MDH guidelines recommended testing children who are at risk for lead exposure at both one and two years of age, as well as children aged three to six who have not been previously tested. Children tested at one year of age should be tested again at two years even if the blood lead level was low at the one-year test since risk behaviors related to lead exposure change as a child develops. The Childhood Blood Lead Screening Guidelines for Minnesota were updated in 2022 to recommend universal screening for all children at 12 and 24 months of age.

Why should two-year-old children be tested?

Two-year-old children are more mobile and interact with their environments differently than one-year-old children. This can change the risk for lead exposure between these ages, even if the child’s house or other risk factors do not change. This is supported by MDH surveillance data; among children who had an elevated blood lead level at two years of age, 40% of those children had been tested at one year of age and had a non-elevated test.

To see other tables and charts on childhood lead exposure, see:

 

Last updated June 2023.