Fluoride Action Network

Abstract

Objective
To explore the effect of coal-burning fluorosis on the physical development and intelligence development of newborns delivered by pregnant women with coal-burning fluorosis.

Methods
A total of 68 newborns delivered by pregnant women from coal-burning endemic fluorosis areas in this region were selected as an observation group, and 50 full-term newborns delivered by normal healthy pregnant women were selected as a control group. Then, measurements of the growth and development in the two groups at 1 hour after birth were compared; and at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months after birth, the body weight development, body-length development, mental development index (MDI) and psychomotor development index (PDI) in the two groups were compared.

Results
The body weight, body length, head circumference, chest circumference, upper arm circumference and top arm length of newborns in the observation group were all significantly lower than those in the control group, and their differences were statistically significant (P < 0.05). At 3, 6, 9 and 12 months after birth, the grades of body weight development and body-length development of infants in the control group were significantly higher than those in the observation group (P < 0.05); both the MDI and the PDI of infants in the observation group were significantly lower than those in the control group (P < 0.05).

Conclusions
Coal-burning fluorosis may, to a certain extent, affect the physical development and intelligence development of newborns delivered by pregnant women with coal-burning fluorosis. Importance should be attached to health care for pregnant women in coal-burning fluorosis areas, and proactive precautions against fluorosis should be taken to reduce the adverse effect of fluorosis on newborns.

EXCERPT

Comparison of the mental development index (MDI) and psychomotor development index (PDI) (assessed using the Standardized Scale for the Intelligence Development of Children formulated by the Children Development Center of China [CDCC]) of newborns in the two groups at 3, 6, 9 and 12 months after birth showed that both the MDI and the PDI in the observation group were significantly lower than those in the control group (P< 0.05), which suggests that maternal fluorosis have a significant impact on the intelligence development of newborns.