Fluoride in drinking water may impair cognition in children: Study

Exposure to fluoride during the foetal stage or early childhood may impair cognition in children a new study has warnedPublished in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives the study from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden now supports a few previous studies indicating that exposure to fluoride during the foetal stage or early childhood is not good for kidsElevated concentrations of fluoride can occur in well water and in some countries it is added to drinking water to counteract caries in the populationFluoride occurs naturally as fluoride ions in drinking water but the concentrations are generally low in public water suppliesIn some countries such as the US Canada Chile Australia and Ireland fluoride is commonly added to the municipal water supply at around 07 mg per litre to prevent cariesldquoGiven the concern about health risks the addition of fluoride to drinking water is controversial and has been widely debated in the USA and Canadardquo said Maria Kippler associate professor at the Institute of Environmental Medicine Karolinska InstitutetldquoOur results support the hypothesis that even relatively low concentrations of fluoride can impact childrenrsquos early developmentrdquo she mentionedThe researchers followed 500 mothers and their children in rural Bangladesh where fluoride occurs naturally in the drinking water to investigate the association between early exposure to fluoride and childrenrsquos cognitive abilitiesThe concentrations are similar to those found in many other countries worldwideThe exposure to fluoride in the mothers and children was determined by measuring the concentrations in urine samples which reflects ongoing exposure to all sources such as drinking water food and dental care productsldquoIrsquod like to stress that dental care products such as toothpaste are not normally a significant source of exposure since they are not intended for ingestionrdquo said Dr KipplerFluoride in toothpaste is important for prevention of caries but itrsquos important to encourage small children not to swallow the toothpaste during brushingThe median concentration of fluoride in urine of the pregnant Bangladeshi women was 063 mgLChildren that had more than 072 mgL fluoride in their urine by the age of ten also had lower cognitive abilities than children with less fluoride in their urine with most pronounced associations for verbal reasoning skills and the ability to interpret and process sensory inputIt is important to assess the overall results of several similar longitudinal studies according to the researchersThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever