Study links fluoride to lower IQ
Letter by Jack Crowther
The American Medical Association’s Journal on Pediatrics has just published a study linking low levels of fluoride exposure, during fetal development, to lower IQ in children.
The study has clear implications for the policy of public water fluoridation. For instance, the report states, “These findings indicate the possible need to reduce fluoride intake during pregnancy,” a clear warning against fluoridated water consumption.
The study supports earlier research with similar results, but this study seems especially significant, even momentous. Here’s why:
1. JAMA Pediatrics is a leading, evidently the leading, journal in its field.
2. The American Medical Association endorses fluoridation of public water supplies, so the article in an AMA publication implicitly calls into question AMA policy.
3. The study had funding from the U.S. government, which endorses fluoridation. It is the second recent government-funded study pointing to the link between fluoride levels in pregnant women and lower IQ. Our government is finally receptive to the idea its pro-fluoridation policy, dating from 1950, warrants further examination.
4. The study has received widespread news coverage, including pieces by the Washington Post, NPR, CNN, Reuters, Fox News, the Philadelphia Inquirer, various Canadian news outlets and online news sources. The great frustration of fluoridation opponents has been the stubborn resistance of the media, with a few exceptions, to cover the science of fluoride and fluoridation risks. That may now be changing.
The website fluoridealert.org gives access to the study.
Jack Crowther
Rutland
*Original letter online at https://www.rutlandherald.com/opinion/letters/study-links-fluoride-to-lower-iq/article_633f6ade-a7a2-5d37-8d8d-60fe74fa6fd5.html
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