By George Citroner via The Epoch Times,
Following the release of a U.S. government report in August 2024 linking higher fluoride levels in drinking water to lower IQ in children, a new review conducted by the National Institutes of Health seems to confirm these findings.
A new analysis published Monday in the journal Pediatrics found that fluoride exposure, which exceeded 1.5 milligrams per liter (mg/l), was associated with decreased intelligence in children.
The study, conducted by the U.S. National Toxicology Program (NTP), took nine years to complete and is the largest meta-analysis to date of the health effects of fluoride.
The studies looked at the measured fluoride levels in drinking water and urine. The authors used urine fluoride as a substitute for total fluoride exposure.
74 studies reviewed
Of the 74 studies reviewed, 64 found that higher levels of fluoride exposure were associated with lower IQ in children. The strength of this association is considered moderate to large.
Thirty-one studies reviewed noticed a dose-response, so an increase in fluoride levels in drinking water was associated with a further decrease in children’s IQ outcomes.
However, the relationship between fluoride and a lower IQ score persisted only when fluoride concentrations in drinking water were above 1.5 mg/l, which is higher than the current fluoride drinking water standard of 0.7 mg/l.
The limit value of 1.5 mg/l is the same concentration as identified in the NTP report of August 2024. The report was cited more than 120 times in the case, which led to the court’s decision that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must review its current drinking water standard of 0.7 mg/L.
When evaluating urinary fluoride, the researchers found that every 1 mg/l increase in urinary fluoride was associated with an average decrease between 1.14 and 1.63 IQ points.
Fluoride can cross the blood-brain barrier and accumulate in areas of the brain that are responsible for cognition and memory, although its effects on the brain remain unclear.
The results of the study provide information on future risk-benefit estimates associated with exposure to fluoride, the authors wrote, highlighting in particular the significant contribution of water and beverages made with fluorinated water, such as soft drinks, fruit juice, beer, and some bottled waters, to the complete ingestion of fluoride.
In the United States, it is estimated that about 40 to 70 percent of fluoride consumption comes from fluorinated drinking water.
The World Health Organization has set a safe upper intake of fluoride in drinking water at 1.5 mg/L, and the U.S. Public Health Service recommends a fluoride concentration of 0.7 mg/L in drinking water. But “fluoride levels above 1.5 mg/L are found in wells and community water systems that serve nearly 3 million people in the United States,” Christine Bruske Flowers, director of communications at the National Institutes of Health, told The Epoch Times.
Food &; Water Watch vs. EPA
In a federal court case in California in September 2024, an environmental nonprofit called Food &; Water Watch EPA sued, arguing that adding fluoride to drinking water is harmful. The judge ruled on Food &; In favor of Water Watch, finding that current fluoride levels in drinking water (0.7 mg/l) pose an “unreasonable risk” to children’s IQ.
The decision was based on an NTP report that found that fluoride concentrations close to the EPA’s current standard pose a risk to neurodevelopment.
The EPA must now take measures to eliminate this risk, which could lead to significant changes in drinking water management.
Dissenting experts
Despite the conclusions of the review, experts contradict the meaning of the results.
Studies that have suggested a link between childhood fluoride exposure and reduced IQ “have been limited,” Suparna Mahalaha, an associate professor at the School of Dental Medicine at Case Western University who was not involved in the study, told The Epoch Times.
In an editorial published alongside the new study, Dr. Steven M. Levy, a dentist who was not involved in the study, pointed out that there is “no evidence” of adverse effects on lower fluoride levels commonly used in community water fluoridation systems.
One example he gave against the NTP study was the use of urine fluoride by researchers to measure long-term exposure to fluoride, arguing that such measures are invalid because “fluoride has a short half-life and there are significant differences between days and day to day.”
Levy emphasized the importance of fluorinated water and its use for decades to reduce dental cavities and improve overall oral health.
However, increased ways of exposure to fluoride can also pose a threat to pregnant women and children.
The consumption of fluoride through foods and beverages made with fluorinated water, toothpaste and mouthwash can increase the total exposure of children and pregnant women to fluoride “and may affect the neurodevelopment of the fetus, infant, and child,” Levy added.
Mahalaha noted that the concentration of fluoride in drinking water is much lower than that added to toothpaste and mouth rinse, so it is important to ensure that children do not swallow these products.
Tubes of toothpaste carry warnings against ingestion, as excessive fluoride consumption can be harmful.
“Wearing toothpaste on a child’s toothbrush is enough and safe from less than a pea-sized amount,” he said.
“From a public health standpoint, I think high doses of ingested fluoride and other things like sugar, processed foods, social media and screen time negatively affect a child’s development,” Mahalaha said.
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In November, when RFK Jr. expressed concern about the effects of fluoride, the NPR quickly attacked the “conspirator”…
Despite the clear benefits, conspiracy theories around fluoride have existed for almost as long as water has been fluorinated, said Matthew Dallek, a political historian at George Washington University.
“In a way, the conspiracy theory about fluoride in drinking water is one of the original public health conspiracy theories,” he says.
…
Experts quickly condemned the promise to remove fluoride from the water.
“Fluoride is well tested. It clearly and definitively reduces cavities and is not tied to clear evidence of the chronic diseases mentioned in this tweet,” says Dr. Paul Offit, a researcher and physician at Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia.
“Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is a denier of science. He invents his scientific truths and ignores the real truths,” Offit says.
Who is now the denier of science, Mr. Offit?
