[영문]Objective. This study was designed to assess demographic and socioeconomicdifferences in blood lead levels (BLLs) among Mexican-American children andadolescents in the United States.Methods. We analyzed data from the Third National Health and Nutrition ExaminationSurvey, 1988?1994, for 3,325 Mexican-American youth aged 1 to 17 years. Themain study outcome measures included a continuous measure (μg/dL) of BLL andtwo dichotomous measures of BLL (5 μg/dL and 10 μg/dL).Results. The mean BLL among Mexican-American children in the United States was3.45 μg/dL (95% confidence interval [CI] 3.07, 3.87); 20% had BLL 5 μg/dL (95%CI 15%, 24%); and 4% had BLL 10 μg/dL (95% CI 2%, 6%). In multivariateanalyses, gender, age, generational status, home language, family income, educationof head of household, age of housing, and source of drinking water werestatistically significant independent predictors (p0.05) of having higher BLLs andof having BLL 5 μg/dL, whereas age, family income, housing age, and source ofdrinking water were significant predictors (p0.05) of having BLL 10 μg/dL.Conclusions. Significant differences in the risk of having elevated BLLs exist amongMexican-American youth. Those at greatest risk should be prioritized for leadscreening and lead exposure abatement interventions.