Abstract

Fluorotic changes in bones and joints were evaluated in 105 aluminum workers and 20 residents of an endemic fluorosis region in India. The age of the workers averaged 51.2 years, and the duration of their exposure 18.2 years. The skeletal changes in the aluminum workers exhibited the same characteristics as those of endemic fluorosis. In industrial fluorosis the changes were less advanced than in endemic fluorosis. Generalized sclerosis, alterations in the bone structure and periosteal reactions are the most typical features of skeletal fluorosis; ossification of the interosseous membranes and muscle attachments, are less characteristic.

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