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Plasma and water fluoride levels and hyperuricemia among US adolescents.Abstract
Background: Evidence obtained thus far on the relationship between exposure to excessive fluoride and serum uric acid levels has been based predominately on experimental animals and the studies have provided mixed results. The present study was to determine a potential relationship between fluoride exposure and uric acid levels in a human population.
Methods: A nationally representative subsample of 2018 adolescents, aged 12-19 years, in the 2013-2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey was analyzed for the association of plasma and water fluoride concentrations with serum uric acid levels using multivariate general linear and logistic regression models, adjusting for potential confounders. Hyperuricemia was defined in this study as over the mean plus one standard deviation for each sex and age group of adolescents.
Results: Of the study participants, 288 adolescents (weighted prevalence, 16.15%) were having hyperuricemia. A significant and dose-dependent increase in the prevalence of hyperuricemia was seen among the participants cross increasing quartiles of plasma fluoride (p-trend = 0.0015). After adjusting for potential confounders, we found that adolescents in the highest quartiles of plasma fluoride (>0.45 =umol/L) had significantly increased odds of hyperuricemia (OR: 1.78; 95% CI: 1.04, 3.04) compared with those in the lowest quartile. A 1.86-fold increased odds of hyperuricemia was also observed when analyzing fluoride concentrations as continuous variable. A general linear model revealed that a 1 umol/L increase in plasma fluoride was associated with a 0.213 mg/dL (p<0.0001) increased serum uric acid level. Furthermore, a positive relationship was observed between water and plasma fluoride concentrations (B=0.19; p<0.0001).
Conclusion: Our study demonstrates a potential relationship between fluoride exposure and hyperuricemia in adolescents. Additional studies would further explore these interactions and elucidate potential underlying issues of hyperuricemia associated with exposure to high levels of fluoride.
*Abstract in the Conference Abstract E-Posters at http://fluoridealert.org/wp-content/uploads/isee2020.abstract-e-posters.pdf
Authors:
Yudan Wei, Mercer University School of Medicine, Macon, United States
J. Zhu, Fort Valley State University, Fort Valley, GA.
S. Wetzstein, Mercer University School of Medicine, Macon, GA.