Abstract
A cross-sectional survey of 18,621 adults of both sexes living in rural tribal areas of the Dungarpur and Udaipur districts of Rajasthan, India was conducted to correlate the prevalence of osteo-dental fluorosis with nutritional status, living habits, and occupation. The mean fluoride (F) concentration in drinking water sources ranged from 1.0 to 6.1 ppm. Among subjects with poor nutrition, the prevalence of dental fluorosis rose to 61.6% and skeletal fluorosis to 23.9%. A high incidence of fluorosis was also observed in subjects using substances such as alcohol, betel nuts, citrus fruits, edible ghee or fat, tea, and tobacco. The highest incidence of dental (90.1%) and skeletal ( 60.8%) fluorosis was observed in alcohol or beverage users and the lowest (30.8% an d 8.9%) in the citrus fruits users, respectively. Subjects with different occupations exhibited a variable incidence of dental and skeletal fluorosis. Labourers showed the highest incidence of dental and skeletal fluorosis (63.1% and 26.2%), followed by farmers (61.2% and 21.8%), housewives (57.1% and 13.2%), businessmen (54.2% and 14.4%), students (54.2% and 9.5%), and servicemen (51.5% and 15.9% ), respectively. These data pertaining to the relationship of osteo-dental fluorosis with nutritional status, living habits, and occupation were statistically analysed and found to exhibit highly positive correlations. Possible causes for differences in the incidence of fluorosis in relation to nutritional status, habits , and occupation are discussed.
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Epidemiological, clinical, and biochemical study of endemic dental and skeletal fluorosis in Punjab
The incidence of dental fluorosis in 46,000 children in the Punjab was assessed and compared with the fluoride content of their water supplies. Ten villages were selected for more detailed studies of skeletal as well as dental fluorosis. Factors other than the fluoride content of the drinking water which were found to influence
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Dietary fluoride intake and associated skeletal and dental fluorosis in school age children in rural Ethiopian Rift Valley
An observational study was conducted to determine dietary fluoride intake, diet, and prevalence of dental and skeletal fluorosis of school age children in three fluorosis endemic districts of the Ethiopian Rift Valley having similar concentrations of fluoride (F) in drinking water (~5 mg F/L). The duplicate plate method was used
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Endemic genu valgum and other bone deformities in two villages of Mandla district in central India
An epidemiological investigation was undertaken in the villages of Tilaipani and Hirapur located in Mandla District of Central India to determine the cause and extent of a peculiar skeletal deformity characterised by knock knee (genu valgum) occurring mainly among children. In Tilaipani, 74.4% of children and adolescents below age 20
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Radiological spectrum of endemic fluorosis: relationship with calcium intake
Skeletal fluorosis continues to be endemic in many parts of India. Osteosclerosis and interosseous membrane calcification have long been regarded as hallmarks of this disease. Our study showed in addition a wide variety of radiological patterns: coarse trabecular pattern, axial osteosclerosis with distal osteopenia and diffuse osteopenia. Subjects with osteopenic changes had
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Endemic chronic fluoride toxicity and dietary calcium deficiency interaction syndromes of metabolic bone disease and deformities in India: year 2000
Epidemiological studies during 1963-1997 were conducted in 45,725 children exposed to high intake of endemic fluoride in the drinking water since their birth. Children with adequate (dietary calcium > 800 mg/d) and inadequate (dietary calcium < 300 mg/d) calcium nutrition and with comparable intakes of fluoride (mean 9.5 +/- 1.9
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Nutrient Deficiencies Enhance Fluoride Toxicity
It has been known since the 1930s that poor nutrition enhances the toxicity of fluoride. As discussed below, nutrient deficiencies have been specifically linked to increased susceptibility to fluoride-induced tooth damage (dental fluorosis), bone damage (osteomalacia), neurotoxicity (reduced intelligence), and mutagenicity. The nutrients of primary importance appear to be calcium,
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Mayo Clinic: Fluoridation & Bone Disease in Renal Patients
The available evidence suggests that some patients wtih long-term renal failure are being affected by drinking water with as little as 2 ppm fluoride. The finding of adverse effects in patients drinking water with 2 ppm of fluoride suggests that a few similar cases may be found in patients imbibing 1 ppm, especially if large volumes are consumed, or in heavy tea drinkers. The finding of adverse effects in patients drinking water with 2 ppm of fluoride suggests that a few similar cases may be found in patients imbibing 1 ppm, especially if large volumes are consumed, or in heavy tea drinkers and if fluoride is indeed the cause. It would seem prudent, therefore, to monitor the fluoride intake of patients with renal failure living in high fluoride areas.
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Skeletal Fluorosis: The Misdiagnosis Problem
It is a virtual certainty that there are individuals in the general population unknowingly suffering from some form of skeletal fluorosis as a result of a doctor's failure to consider fluoride as a cause of their symptoms. Proof that this is the case can be found in the following case reports of skeletal fluorosis written by doctors in the U.S. and other western countries. As can be seen, a consistent feature of these reports is that fluorosis patients--even those with crippling skeletal fluorosis--are misdiagnosed for years by multiple teams of doctors who routinely fail to consider fluoride as a possible cause of their disease.
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Factors which increase the risk for skeletal fluorosis
The risk for developing skeletal fluorosis, and the course the disease will take, is not solely dependent on the dose of fluoride ingested. Indeed, people exposed to similar doses of fluoride may experience markedly different effects. While the wide range in individual response to fluoride is not yet fully understood, the following are some of the factors that are believed to play a role.
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"Pre-Skeletal" Fluorosis
As demonstrated by the studies below, skeletal fluorosis may produce adverse symptoms, including arthritic pains, clinical osteoarthritis, gastrointestinal disturbances, and bone fragility, before the classic bone change of fluorosis (i.e., osteosclerosis in the spine and pelvis) is detectable by x-ray. Relying on x-rays, therefore, to diagnosis skeletal fluorosis will invariably fail to protect those individuals who are suffering from the pre-skeletal phase of the disease. Moreover, some individuals with clinical skeletal fluorosis will not develop an increase in bone density, let alone osteosclerosis, of the spine. Thus, relying on unusual increases in spinal bone density will under-detect the rate of skeletal fluoride poisoning in a population.
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