-Compiled and edited by Mike Dolan, PhD.
Fluoride’s Neurotoxic Effect
A further examination of an expanded database for the ELEMENT mother-child cohort study, that had previously shown a link between prenatal fluoride exposure and reduced intelligence, extends that finding by following the children across three successive IQ tests conducted at ages 4, 5 and 6-12 years. The researchers found that the children’s prenatal fluoride exposure was associated with a consistent loss of IQ across the entire age range that averaged about -4 IQ points per 1 mg/L increase in maternal urine fluoride.
This is the first study to follow children longitudinally over three consecutive periods with IQ tests administered at each age range.
The study also broke down the IQ scores by sub-scales to distinguish between “non-verbal” and “verbal” intelligence, and found a greater loss of non-verbal
intelligence, averaging about -5 points per 1 mg/L maternal urine fluoride:
“The negative association between prenatal fluoride exposure and longitudinal IQ was driven by decrements in non-verbal intelligence … suggesting that visual-spatial and perceptual reasoning abilities may be more impacted by prenatal fluoride exposure as compared to verbal abilities.”
The study results are summarized in this figure based on the original paper:
The pregnant women studied for this report had levels off fluoride in their urine that were comparable to those found in women drinking fluoridated water.
Another mother-child cohort study in Canada also found prenatal exposure to fluoride from drinking water lowered children’s intelligence.
The investigators, from several Mexican and Canadian, US, and Mexican universities, concluded their report writing,
“prenatal exposure to fluoride is associated with sustained impacts on IQ. Non-verbal abilities may be more susceptible to impairment from prenatal fluoride exposure as compared to verbal abilities. These results were found among mother-child pairs living in a region of Mexico in which fluoride is added to salt. These findings contribute to the growing body of evidence on fluoride’s neurotoxicity, and indicate a need to develop recommendations for pregnant women.”
Source: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0013935122003206
On FAN: https://fluoridealert.org/studytracker/41882/
For Christchurch Council safe drinking water, not fluoridation, the priority
The City Council of Christchurch, New Zealand – the largest city to face a new water fluoridation mandate – has indicated it has no funds for fluoridation, as its long range funding is geared toward upgrading its water supply network and meeting safety standards.
“Fluoridating the water to help improve people’s dental health is simply not a priority for us at this time,” the Council wrote in a press release.
“If we are forced by the Ministry of Health into a situation where we have to add fluoride into the water, we will need to secure considerable external funding as we have not budgeted for this in our Long Term Plan and we are prioritizing our drinking water improvement program,” said Councilor Pauline Cotter.
The city government estimates it would take nearly four years and $63 million to fluoridate the city, as the fluoride would need to be introduced at 50 locations throughout the network.
Source: https://newsline.ccc.govt.nz/news/story/protecting-drinking-water-should-come-before-fluoridation
Health Service Considers Fluoridating Scottish Cities
Over a million people in Glasgow, Scotland and neighboring towns could be subject to water fluoridation under a new National Health Service scheme, according to a report on the STV News website.
“NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, which covers 1.2 million people in Glasgow and five other council areas surrounding the city, says it is actively considering ways to introduce the mineral into the region’s water supply,” according to the report.
The drive to implement fluoridation in Scotland is supported by the UK government, but the Scottish National Party said it has no plans to support the policy if it is re-elected.
NHS Grampian said it had no plans to seek fluoridation.
Scotland is noteworthy for having rejected fluoridation in 1983 following its High Court decision that was the longest and most expensive case in its legal history. Of the four countries that make up the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland), only England has any artificial fluoridation, and only for about 10% of its population.
Source: https://news.stv.tv/west-central/fluoride-could-be-added-to-tap-water-used-by-more-than-a-million-scots
On FAN: article from The Times, https://fluoridealert.org/news/dentists-want-fluoride-added-to-scottish-tap-water/
British Government Report Shows Water Fluoridation Linked To Increased Risk Of Hip Fracture
A new report by the British government’s Office of Health Improvement and Disparities that reports no link between exposure to water fluoridation schemes and risk of hip fracture actually contains data that show there is an increased risk.
The March 21 report, Water Fluoridation: Health monitoringreport for England 2022, asserts,
“Taking wider research and the previous health monitoring reports into account, no convincing evidence was found of higher rates of hip fracture in areas with higher fluoride concentrations, or in areas with a fluoridation scheme in place.”
However, in the depths of the report which include the compiled data for England, the authors conclude,
“Considering public water supplies where fluoride was adjusted as part of a fluoridation scheme during the period 2006 to 2015, crude incidence was 7% higher compared to areas where there was no scheme and mean fluoride was below 0.2mg/l.”
The authors further go on to note,
“The association between presence of a fluoridation scheme and hip fractures varied by age. When deprivation and sex are taken into account, there
was evidence of an increased incidence rate of admissions for hip fracture in those aged 50 to 79 years.”
Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/water-fluoridation-health-monitoring-report-for-england-2022
Report on FAN: http://fluoridealert.org/wp-content/uploads/uk.water-fluoridation-health-monitoring-report.2022.pdf
Missouri Dentist Seeks To Re-introduce Fluoridation In Knox County
Knox County dentist Lisa Bosch has initiated a campaign to have the Clarence Cannon Wholesale Water Commission add fluoride to the waters of its 74,000 customers. The Commission ended fluoridation there eleven years ago. It is currently accepting public comments on the matter, and may vote on the proposal by May 11.
The Commission ended fluoridation there eleven years ago. It is currently accepting public comments on the matter, and may vote on the proposal by May 11.
It would affect the following cities: Bowling Green, Clarence, Curryville, Edina, Farber, Frankfort, Higbee, Hunnewell, Huntsville, LaBella, Lewiston, Madison, New London, Paris, Perry, Shelbyville, Vandalia, Wellsville and several rural districts, according to the Edina Sentinel, April 6.
Source: https://www.nemonews.net/2022/04/06/local-dentist-initiates-push-to-put-fluoride-back-into-the-clarence-cannon-service-area/
On FAN: https://fluoridealert.org/news/local-dentist-initiates-push-to-put-fluoride-back-into-the-clarence-cannon-service-area/
Fluoride Worries Persist In New Mexico Town
The town of Española, New Mexico has issued a warning to water consumers, as tests of well water there have persistently revealed fluoride levels in excess of 2.0 mg per liter.
According to the Rio Grande Sun March 31,
“All of Española’s well’s most recent tests show fluoride concentration above 2 mg/L but lower than 4 mg/L.”
The levels exceed the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Secondary Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL).
“Secondary MCLs are not enforceable standards,” said Matthew Maez of the New Mexico Environment Department, “and EPA does not consider the contaminants that have an established Secondary MCL to present a risk to public health,” according to the report.
A group of environmental toxicologists who have conducted original research on the neurotoxicity of fluoride in drinking water have recently published a benchmark for fluoride in water of 0.2 mg/L. At this level, they concluded, fluoride in drinking water can be expected to reduce a child’s IQ by one point.
Source: http://www.riograndesun.com/news/fluoride-remains-high-in-city-water/article_f5a172ac-aae2-11ec-b9a9-371264e8dc15.html
On FAN: https://fluoridealert.org/news/espanola-fluoride-remains-high-in-city-water/
** See all towns in New Mexico with high fluoride levels at https://fluoridealert.org/researchers/natural_fluoride/new-mexico/
•• Michael Dolan can be contacted at <mdolan.ecsn@outlook.com>
•• The archives of The Fluoridation Review are available at: https://
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