Interview with Maya Khanna
Dr. Maya Khanna is a professor of psychological science and neuroscience at Creighton university. She currently works with children who have elevated blood lead levels (BLLs), testing the cognitive impact that is caused by early exposure to lead.
Before moving to Omaha, Dr. Khanna was not aware of the impact that lead could have on cognition, nor the dramatic affect it had had on an entire generation in Omaha. She notes that she originally learned about lead in a "social setting" from Kara Eastman. As the CEO of Omaha Healthy Kids Alliance, an organization that works to help children that have been exposed to lead and/or have elevated blood lead levels (BLLs), Eastman was very familiar with the issue. This exposure lead Dr. Khanna to want to become more involved with the lead-based issues in the Omaha area.
Dr. Khanna soon got involved examining children (ages 3-6) with elevated BLLs to determine the link between elevated BLLs and cognitive functioning. Her position as a neuroscientist and psychologist allowed her to view the problem for what it is: a public health crisis. Since the blood brain barrier is not fully established in young children, Dr. Khanna notes that lead poisoning is likely to cause cognitive difficulties, such as decreased executive functions, reading abilities, and impulse control. When the cognitive performance of children that had elevated BLLs was "compared to a demographic controlled group that did not have elevated BLLs," it became clear that lead poisoning had a dramatic effect on a child's cognitive abilities.
However, Dr. Khanna notes that it is "not like... when you're not exposed, it turns back on... [the] impact [of lead] is not just acute, but chronic." These consequences persist throughout the child’s life, she notes, because "having reduced executive functioning, having a compromised ability to pay attention or inhibit Inappropriate behaviors can have consequences for their behavior, home life, [and] future academic success." Dr. Khanna attributes this to the fact that, "brain tissue exposed to lead would no longer multiply... lead[ing] to cell death." Treatments are the only options for of children with this chronic condition, not cures. Those treatments involve many hours of therapy and hard work because, as Nurse Alicia Whitehill notes, lead poisoning has been linked to a decrease of up to 4 points on an IQ scale, an impact that lasts a lifetime.
Dr. Khanna also says that while both males and females face negative cognitive impacts from lead poisoning, severe cognitive impairments are more often seen in males as, "estradiol, which is a precursor to estrogen... act[s] as a protective factor that then [lessens the] impact of lead exposure on that neuron['s] proliferation." These cognitive impairments affect a demographic, men, that is already three times more prone to ADHD and four times more prone to Autism.
Dr. Khanna argues that this is not only an environmental crisis, but an environmental injustice as well. The first steps for intervention after elevated BLLs are found is to "get the child's exposure down too." This is frustrating, as Dr. Khanna had already noted, because those families that are exposed to lead often have the least access to resources required to limit that exposure. Non-homeowners (tenants) as well as those who live in aging housing stock are more at risk to be exposed to lead. Unfortunately, those who fall into the aforementioned categories tend to skew low income. The cognitive damage that occurs in already disadvantaged children sets them back further, lessening the opportunities that are available to that child in the future.