Does prenatal fluoride exposure diminish children’s cognitive function?
In a Canadian observational study, pregnant women’s fluoride intake was linked to an IQ reduction in children, as highlighted in a recent JAMA Pediatrics publication.
For 601 enrolled pregnant women, urine samples were taken during each pregnancy trimester to assess urinary fluoride concentration, while children’s IQ was tested at the age of 3-4 years using Wechsler Primary and Preschool Scale of Intelligence-III. For maternal tap water intake, including drinks like coffee and tea, self-reported data were considered.
Researchers of Christine Till’s team revealed that median urine concentration was 0.41mg/L, being higher in women (40%) who lived in cities with fluoridated water (0.69mg/L) than those (60%) in cities without (0.40mg/L). For these children, researchers demonstrated that each additional 1mg/L of maternal urinary fluoride level was significantly associated with 4.49 fewer IQ points in boys, yet not in girls. Of note, self-reported water intake data did not reveal such a gender difference.
As with most observational research, several study limitations were put forth by the study authors. While the authors suggested that women should limit their fluoride intake during pregnancy, they did not make any recommendations regarding water fluorination policies. In our view, the debate concerning the fluoridation of municipal water to diminish dental carries is still open.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31424532
Reference: Green R, Lanphear B, Hornung R, et al. Association Between Maternal Fluoride Exposure During Pregnancy and IQ Scores in Offspring in Canada. JAMA Pediatr. 2019 Aug 19. doi: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2019.1729. [Epub ahead of print]