Abstract

The present study was undertaken to investigate the various health problems caused by water-borne fluoride in endemic villages of Mehsana and Banaskantha districts of Gujarat. The study revealed high levels of fluoride in serum samples of the villagers. Mottling of teeth and skeletal complications were common. Intake of fluoride caused a decrease in haemoglobin content and in the serum protein levels. Serum cholesterol levels were normal. Circulating levels of testosterone were decreased, but not significantly enough to indicate an effect on reproductive functions. The enhanced levels of serum transaminases, which are markers for liver function, indicated structural and functional changes in liver due to fluoride intake. Changes in the serum calcium, sodium and potassium levels revealed electrolyte imbalance in the fluorotic individuals. While levels of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) and triiodothyronine (T 3 ) did not vary, • a significant increase in the thyroxine (T 4 ) levels suggested alteration in thyroid function. Thus the study revealed some harmful effects of fluoride in the soft tissue functions of the endemic population

• Related Studies :

  • Fluoride in Drinking Water: A Scientific Review of EPA’s Standards.

    Excerpts: Summary Under the Safe Drinking Water Act, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is required to establish exposure standards for contaminants in public drinking-water systems that might cause any adverse effects on human health. These standards include the maximum contaminant level goal (MCLG), the maximum contaminant level (MCL), and the secondary

  • Studies on fluorosis in Mehsana District of North Gujarat.

    A survey was conducted in eighteen fluoride endemic villages in Mehsana District of North Gujarat (India). The individuals afflicted with fluorosis were examined for apparent mottled teeth and skeletal complications. Samples of urine and blood of these individuals along with drinking water were collected and compared with samples obtained from

  • Early diagnosis and classification of professional fluorosis

    On the basis of evaluating the clinical course and supplementary method of examination carried out in 132 patients suffering of professional fluorosis and in 200 workers in the premorbid state the author proposes criteria of early diagnosis. Considering Zislin's classification of professional fluorosis, literature data and own findings the author

  • Medical aspects of excessive fluoride in a water supply

    A 10-year study of 116 persons in Bartlett and 121 in Cameron, Tex., was conducted to determine if prolonged exposure to fluoride in the water supply of Bartlett had produced detectable physiological effects. Bartlett's water contained about 8 p.p.m. F until 1952, when an experimental defluoridation unit was installed, reducing the

  • The effects of excessive fluoride intake

    A survey undertaken in areas of Tanzania where the water has a very high fluoride content showed mottling of the teeth. Some skeletal fluorotic changes were found in some older people. The problem of reducing the fluoride content of the water to acceptable levels is discussed.

• Related FAN Content :

  • "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.

  • Fluoride & Osteoarthritis

    While the osteoarthritic effects that occurred from fluoride exposure were once considered to be limited to those with skeletal fluorosis, recent research shows that fluoride can cause osteoarthritis in the absence of traditionally defined fluorosis. Conventional methods used for detecting skeletal fluorosis, therefore, will fail to detect the full range of people suffering from fluoride-induced osteoarthritis.

  • 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.

  • Fluoride Exposure Aggravates the Impact of Iodine Deficiency

    A consistent body of animal and human research shows that fluoride exposure worsens the impact of an iodine deficiency. Iodine is the basic building block of the T3 and T4 hormones and thus an adequate iodine intake is essential for the proper functioning of the thyroid gland. When iodine intake is inadequate during infancy and

  • The Relationship Between Fluoride Exposure & Goitre in South Africa

    As a general rule simple goitre, irrespective of the cause, can be very, or fairly, satisfactorily combated by an adequate increase in man's daily iodine intake, except when the enlargement of the gland is due to the ingestion of excessive amounts of fluorine. The only correct solution to fluorine-induced endemic goitre is the removal of this element from the drinking water.