The Prevalence of Pica

Abstract

YOUNG CHILDREN are well known to mouth or ingest substances that are not normally regarded as edible, and this is recognized to be a normal phase of development. Persistence of the activity of ingesting non-edible substances after the age of 18 months has been regarded as abnormal (Lourie et al¹), and the term "pica" has been applied to this. Parents often regard the practice as being relatively benign; however, associated hazards that have been reported include lead poisoning and infestation with parasites. It has been claimed that 24% of children with pica also had "probable lead poisoning" (Jacobziner and Raybin),²and a high level of blood lead was found to be related to a history of pica more often than to any other commonly employed parameter used in the detection of lead poisoning (Bradley et al).³An example of parasitic infestation is that of toxocariasis following pica