Abstract
The Intelligence Quotient (IQ) was measured in 512 children, aged 8–13 years, living in two villages in Sihong County, Jiangsu Province, China, differing in the level of fluoride in their drinking water. In the high-fluoride village of Wamiao (water fluoride: 2.47±0.79 mg/L; range: 0.57–4.50 mg/L), the mean IQ of 222 children was significantly lower (92.02±13.00; range: 54–126) than in the low-fluoride village of Xinhuai (water fluoride: 0.36±0.15 mg/L; range: 0.18–0.76 mg/L), where the mean IQ of 290 children was higher (100.41±13.21; range: 60–128). The children’s IQs were not related to urinary iodine, family income, or parent’s education level. Higher drinking water fluoride levels were significantly associated with higher rates of mental retardation (IQ <70) and borderline intelligence (IQ 70–79). The Benchmark Concentration (BMC) for the concentration-response relationship between IQ <80 and the drinking water fluoride level was 2.32 mg/L, and the lower-bound confidence limit (BMCL) of the BMC was 1.85 mg/L. Taking dental fluorosis and other sources of dietary fluoride into account, the reference value concentration (RfC) for fluoride was calculated to be 0.925 mg/L, which is very close to the current national Chinese standard of <1.0 mg/L. In endemic fluorosis areas, drinking water fluoride levels greater than 1.0 mg/L may adversely affect the development of children’s intelligence.
SEE Letter from the authors: Blood lead of children in Wamiao -Xinhuai intelligence study