Abstract

The authors conducted a systematic review on published studies to date to investigate the effect of fluoride exposure on children’s intelligence quotient (IQ) scores. PSYCHINFO, Web of Science, MEDLINE, SCI, and the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) search engines were employed for all documents published up to 2012, in English and in Chinese. In total, 38 studies of fluoride exposure and children’s scores on IQ tests were included in this review. The weighted mean effect size (WMES) on children’s IQ scores between higher and lower regions of fluoride exposure was – .46 (CI 95% – .57 to – .35; p< .001) equivalent to 6.9 IQ points. Sensitivity analyses showed that after excluding studies that had other elements contaminations, the adverse effects of fluoride exposure on children’s intelligence remained to be significant. Further, six of the studies reported significant negative correlations between fluoride in the body and intelligence. The evidence suggests that fluoride in drinking water is a serious public health hazard.

*Original abstract online at http://www.mankindquarterly.org/archive/issue/53-3/2

• Related Studies :

  • Fluoride exposure, dopamine relative gene polymorphism and intelligence: A cross-sectional study in China.

    Highlights Urine fluoride was inversely associated with IQ. IQ of children with high-activity MAOA genotype was lower than IQ of those with low-activity or female heterozygote genotype. DAT1 and MAOA gene polymorphism modify the effects of UF on IQ. UF, ANKK1, COMT and MAOA have a high-dimensional interaction on

  • Acetylcholinesterase activity in fluorosis adversely affects mental well-being: an experimental study in rural Rajasthan

    Fluoride toxicity is a burgeoning problem worldwide and also in Rajasthan in India. In the state of Rajasthan, almost all districts have high fluoride (up to 18.0 ppm) in their drinking/ground water sources and about 11 million of the population [is] at risk. Several clinical and experimental studies have reported

  • A cross-sectional study to assess the intelligence quotient (IQ) of school going children aged 10-12 years in villages of Mysore district, India with different fluoride levels.

    Introduction: Besides dental and skeletal fluorosis, excessive fluoride intake can also affect the central nervous system without first causing the physical deformities associated with skeletal fluorosis. With the existence of widespread endemic fluorosis in India, the possible adverse effect of elevated fluoride in drinking water on the Intelligence Quotient (IQ)

  • Modifying effect of COMT gene polymorphism and a predictive role for proteomics analysis in children's intelligence in endemic fluorosis area in Tianjin, China.

    Cumulative fluoride exposure has adverse influences on children's intelligence quotient (IQ). In addition, Catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) gene Val158Met polymorphism (rs4680) is associated with cognitive performance. This study aimed to evaluate the associations of COMT polymorphism and alterations of protein profiles with children's intelligence in endemic fluorosis area. We recruited 180 schoolchildren

  • A study of the intellectual ability of 8-14 year-old children in high fluoride, low iodine areas.

    Wechsler Intelligence Test IQ scores of 160 children, 8–14 years old, from nine schools in an area of high fluoride and low iodine averaged 64.8 compared with 85.0 (p<0.01) for 169 children of the same ages from seven schools in an area with low iodine only. Among the first group

• Related FAN Content :

  • Fluoride & IQ: 70 Studies

    As of June 2021, a total of 78 studies have investigated the relationship between fluoride and human intelligence. Of these investigations, 70 studies have found that elevated fluoride exposure is associated with reduced IQ in humans, while over 60 animal studies have found that fluoride exposure impairs the learning and/or

  • Fluoride Affects Learning & Memory in Animals

    An association between elevated fluoride exposure and reduced intelligence has now been observed in 65 IQ studies. Although a link between fluoride and intelligence might initially seem surprising or random, it is actually consistent with a large body of animal research. This animal research includes the following 45 studies (out

  • NRC (2006): Fluoride's Neurotoxicity and Neurobehavioral Effects

    The NRC's analysis on fluoride and the brain.

  • Fluoride's Direct Effects on Brain: Animal Studies

    The possibility that fluoride ingestion may impair intelligence and other indices of neurological function is supported by a vast body of animal research, including over 40 studies that have investigated fluoride's effects on brain quality in animals. As discussed by the National Research Council, the studies have consistently demonstrated that fluoride, at widely varying concentrations, is toxic to the brain.

  • Fluoride's Effect on Fetal Brain

    The human placenta does not prevent the passage of fluoride from a pregnant mother's bloodstream to the fetus. As a result, a fetus can be harmed by fluoride ingested pregnancy. Based on research from China, the fetal brain is one of the organs susceptible to fluoride poisoning. As highlighted by the excerpts