Below are some of the responses that were published to the Bashash et al. study which was released on September 19, 2017.

Disappointingly, no major U.S. media reported the story (CNN first ran it at midnight and Newsweek is only in digital format). One would think the media would be interested as this was a government-funded study to evaluate the cognitive effect of fluoride exposure in the womb on the offspring. And an effect was reported: the loss of 5 to 6 IQ points. No print, TV or radio in any large city across the U.S. made mention of it.

Newsweek, Children’s IQ Could Be Lowered By Mothers Drinking Tap Water While Pregnant, by Dana Dovey, September 19:

… “This is a very well-conducted study, and it raises serious concerns about fluoride supplementation in water,” says Dr. Leonardo Trasande, a pediatrician who studies potential links between environmental exposures and health problems at New York University Langone Health. (He was not involved in the new study.)

Trasande emphasizes that the levels of fluoride seen among the mothers in this study are slightly higher than what would be expected in U.S., based on current fluoride supplementation levels. However, he also explains that fluoride is known to disrupt thyroid function, which in turn is crucial for brain development.

“These new insights raise concerns that the prenatal period may be highly vulnerable and may require additional reconsideration,” Trasande says.

CTV (Canadian TV), Higher levels of fluoride in urine linked to lower IQ scores in children, by Angela Mulholland, September 19:

… Dr. Howard Hu, the study’s lead investigator, and a professor of environmental health, epidemiology and global health at [the University of Toronto’s] Dalla Lana School of Public Health, says the fact that the fluoride levels in the mothers was most predictive of the drop in test scores may be due to the fact that the brains of babies develop so rapidly while they are in utero.

“This is consistent with a growing appreciation in environmental health that the growing fetal nervous system is more sensitive to exposures than a developed nervous system,” he told CTVNews.ca by phone from Sydney.

Both the Montreal Gazette & the National Post ran the same article: Researchers urge caution over study linking fluoride exposure in pregnancy to lower IQs in children, by Sharon Kirkey, September 21:

… [The article quotes the lead investigator of the study, Dr Howard Hu:] “This is a very rigorous epidemiology study. You just can’t deny it. It’s directly related to whether fluoride is a risk for the neurodevelopment of children. So, to say it has no relevance to the folks in the U.S. seems disingenuous.”

… “Why would anybody rate the equivalency or supremacy of reducing tooth decay by about one cavity a lifetime when what’s at stake is the mental development of your children? It’s utterly preposterous,” said Connett, executive director of the Fluoride Action Network.

Press Releases:

University of Toronto: Higher levels of fluoride in urine associated with lower intelligence in children.  The study’s lead investigator, Dr Howard Hu, is Professor of Environmental Health, Epidemiology and Global Health at the  University’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health. September 19.

… “Our study shows that the growing fetal nervous system may be adversely affected by higher levels of fluoride exposure,” said Dr. Howard Hu, the study’s principal investigator … “It also suggests that the pre-natal nervous system may be more sensitive to fluoride compared to that of school-aged children.”

American Dental Association Response to Study Regarding Fluoride Intake in Mexico. September 19.

The American Dental Association (ADA) examined a study in Environmental Health Perspectives based on fluoride intake in Mexico, and concludes the findings are not applicable to the U.S. The ADA continues to endorse fluoridation of public water as the most effective public health measure to prevent tooth decay…

Fluoride Free New Zealand issued this press release New US Government Study on Fluoride Damage to Brain on September 21.

[In response to the study] Fluoride Free New Zealand is calling on the 23 councils (out of the total of 67) that still fluoridate, to urgently implement a moratorium on fluoridation to protect the brains of children being born today in their community… This is particularly relevant to New Zealand where half of the population is currently subjected to fluoridation…

Articles:

9/19/17: CNN, Fluoride exposure in utero linked to lower IQ in kids, study says, by Nadia Kounang, Sept 19 updated on Sept 21.

9/19/17: CTV (Canadian TV), Higher levels of fluoride in urine linked to lower IQ scores in children, by Angela Mulholland, September 19.

9/19/17: Newsweek, Children’s IQ Could Be Lowered By Mothers Drinking Tap Water While Pregnant, by Dana Dovey, September 19.

9/20/17: Collective Evolution, Fluoride exposure in utero linked to lower IQ in kids, study says, by Kalee Brown, September 20.

9/20/17: Daily Mail (UK), Pregnant women exposed to flouride are more likely to have kids with low IQ, study shows, by Mia De Graaf, September 20.

9/20/17: Medical Xpress, Higher levels of fluoride in pregnant woman linked to lower intelligence in their children, by Nicole Bodnar, September 20.

9/20/17: Readers’ Digest, If you drink this type of water during pregnancy, your child’s IQ could suffer, by Sam Benson Smith, September 20.

9/21/17: Both the Montreal Gazette & the National Post ran the same article: Researchers urge caution over study linking fluoride exposure in pregnancy to lower IQs in children, by Sharon Kirkey, September 20.

9/23/17: MintPress News, ADA Untroubled By Yet Another Study Pointing To Fluoride’s Negative Health Impacts, by Whitney Webb. September 23.

9/25/17: Medical News Today, High fluoride levels in pregnancy may lower offspring IQ, by Honor Whiteman, September 24.

9/26/17: Environmental Working Group, Fluoride Can Harm Children’s Intelligence, Mexican Study Finds, September 26.

10/3/17: The Lund Report, IQ Losses Continue to Haunt Fluoride, By Rick North, October 3.

10/4/17: Environmental Health Perspectives, Low Prenatal Exposures to Fluoride: Are There Neurotoxic Risks for Children?, October 4.

10/14/17: The Meadville Tribune (Pennsylvania), Letter: WHO: Urinalysis not suitable for predicting fluoride intake, by Alan T. Brown

October 2017: Public Health Ontario, Article Review on “Prenatal Fluoride Exposure and Cognitive Outcomes in Children at 4 an d 6 – 1 2 Years of Age in Mexico.

Oct-Dec 2017: Editorial in the journal Fluoride. Prevention of Fluoride Ion-Induced IQ Loss in Children, By Bruce Spittle. Fluoride 50(4):385-392.

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