Abstract
High fluoride levels in drinking water sources are a problem throughout the East African Rift Valley and can lead to dental fluorosis (DF) and skeletal fluorosis (SF) in exposed local populations. Two villages in the Hai District of northern Tanzania in which fluoride has been identified as a problem were investigated in a pilot study. Fluoride levels in drinking water sources were measured and the prevalence of DF and deformities due to SF were assessed in children attending school in the two villages. The assessment also recorded the source of drinking water as well as children’s height, weight and 3-day food diaries. Over one-quarter of the children in both villages had skeletal deformities, despite one village having much higher levels of fluoride in its drinking water sources. More than 90% of children in both villages had DF. SF and DF are major problems in this area. Deformities relating to SF are common, but the reasons for individual susceptibility remain unclear and may include a low calcium diet, ingestion of magadi (local salt) with high fluoride, or genetic factors.
-
-
The effect of nutrition on the development of endemic osteomalacia in patients with skeletal fluorosis
The aim of the study was to study the relationship between nutrition and endemic osteomalacia, resulting in bone deformation with hump back, spinal curvature and "0" legs, in persons living in high drinking water fluoride areas with skeletal fluorosis. A dietary survey was made of 30-50 families from each of
-
Vitamin D deficiency, rickets, and fluorosis in India
Data on the vitamin D status of the populations in a tropical country like India have seldom been documented. Vitamin D deficiency is presumed to be rare. Population studied by the author and others in the country has proved otherwise. Studies were carried out to document the dietary habits, serum
-
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
-
Association between vitamin D receptor gene FokI polymorphism and skeletal fluorosis of the brick-tea type fluorosis: a cross sectional, case control study
Background Brick-tea type fluorosis is a public health concern in the north west area of China. The vitamin D receptor (VDR)-FokI polymorphism is considered to be a regulator of bone metabolism and calcium resorption. However, the association of VDR-FokI polymorphism with the risk of brick-tea type fluorosis has not been
-
Skeletal fluorosis in humans: a review of recent progress in the understanding of the disease
Endemic skeletal fluorosis is a chronic metabolic bone and joint disease caused by ingesting large amounts of fluoride either through water or rarely from foods of endemic areas. Fluoride is a cumulative toxin which can alter accretion and resorption of bone tissue. It also affects the homeostasis of bone mineral
Related Studies :
-
-
-
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.
-
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.
-
Fluoridation, Dialysis & Osteomalacia
In the 1960s and 1970s, doctors discovered that patients receiving kidney dialysis were accumulating very high levels of fluoride in their bones and blood, and that this exposure was associated with severe forms of osteomalacia, a bone-softening disease that leads to weak bones and often excruciating bone pain. Based on
-
Skeletal Fluorosis & Individual Variability
One of the common fallacies in the research on skeletal fluorosis is the notion that there is a uniform level of fluoride that is safe for everyone in the population. These "safety thresholds" have been expressed in terms of (a) bone fluoride content, (b) daily dose, (c) water fluoride level, (d) urinary fluoride level, and (e) blood fluoride level. The central fallacy with each of these alleged safety thresholds, however, is that they ignore the wide range of individual susceptibility in how people respond to toxic substances, including fluoride.
-
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.
Related FAN Content :
-