{"id":6616,"date":"2024-05-22T17:54:46","date_gmt":"2024-05-22T17:54:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/medexperts.pro\/?p=6616"},"modified":"2024-05-22T18:25:39","modified_gmt":"2024-05-22T18:25:39","slug":"is-fluoride-in-water-safe-to-drink-during-pregnancy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/?p=6616","title":{"rendered":"Is Fluoride in Water Safe to Drink During Pregnancy?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><\/div>\n<p id=\"article-summary\" class=\"css-1n0orw4 e1wiw3jv0\">New research suggests a link between prenatal fluoride levels and behavioral issues in children. Experts are divided on the study\u2019s significance.<\/p>\n<section class=\"meteredContent css-1r7ky0e\">\n<div class=\"css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<h2 class=\"css-bo4jmi e12nqm5i0\" id=\"link-2fd7d53c\"><span><strong class=\"css-8qgvsz ebyp5n10\">The Latest<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">A small <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/jamanetwork.com\/journals\/jamanetworkopen\/fullarticle\/2818858\" title rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">study published Monday<\/a> suggested that higher levels of fluoride consumed during the third trimester of pregnancy were associated with a greater risk of behavioral problems in the mothers\u2019 children at 3 years old. The authors of the study, which was funded in part by the National Institutes of Health and the Environmental Protection Agency and published in the journal JAMA Network Open, believe it is the first to examine links between prenatal fluoride exposure and child development among families living in the United States, where fluoride is often added to community water supplies to prevent dental cavities.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The study\u2019s authors and some outside researchers said that the findings should prompt policymakers to evaluate the safety of fluoride consumption during pregnancy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cI think it\u2019s a warning sign,\u201d said Dr. Beate Ritz, an environmental epidemiologist at the U.C.L.A. Fielding School of Public Health.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But other experts cautioned that the study had several important limitations that made it difficult to assess the potential effects of fluoride consumption during pregnancy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThere is nothing about this study that alarms me or would make me recommend that pregnant women stop drinking tap water,\u201d said Dr. Patricia Braun, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and a spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"css-vlsv4n e12nqm5i0\" id=\"link-7101f615\"><span><strong class=\"css-8qgvsz ebyp5n10\">The Background<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Fluoride strengthens tooth enamel, and research suggests that drinking water with added fluoride can <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/fluoridation\/about\/index.html#:~:text=Drinking%20fluoridated%20water%20keeps%20teeth%20strong%20and%20reduces%20cavities%20by%20up%20to%2025%25%20in%20children%20and%20adults.%2034\" title rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">reduce cavities by up to 25 percent<\/a>. Many communities in the United States have added fluoride to their water for this reason since the 1940s, a practice widely celebrated as a major <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC4547574\/\" title rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">public health achievement<\/a>. In 2020, <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/fluoridation\/php\/statistics\/2020-water-fluoridation-statistics.html\" title rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">63 percent of people in the United States<\/a> lived in areas with at least 0.7 milligrams per liter of fluoride in the water \u2014 considered optimal for cavity prevention \u2014 though some areas have levels <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC10756931\/\" title rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">that are higher<\/a>, in part because of naturally high fluoride in the groundwater.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In the last few years, several studies from <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/35276192\/\" title rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Mexico<\/a> and <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/pii\/S0013935121006095?via%3Dihub\" title rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Canada<\/a> have suggested that fluoride exposure during pregnancy is linked to slightly lower scores on intelligence tests and <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/30316181\/\" title rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">other measures<\/a> of <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/37236475\/\" title rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">cognitive function<\/a> in children.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But recent studies from <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/34627799\/\" title rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Spain<\/a> and <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC10843960\/\" title rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Denmark<\/a> have found no such link.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">There is a \u201ccontentious debate\u201d about water fluoridation, acknowledged Ashley Malin, an assistant professor of epidemiology in the College of Public Health and Health Professions at the University of Florida and the lead author of the new study. The issue is currently the subject of a <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cand.uscourts.gov\/food-and-water-watch-v-us-epa\/\" title rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">lawsuit<\/a> filed by the nonprofit Food and Water Watch and other groups against the Environmental Protection Agency. The nonprofit claims that water fluoridation poses a risk to children\u2019s health.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"css-vlsv4n e12nqm5i0\" id=\"link-58147e68\"><span><strong class=\"css-8qgvsz ebyp5n10\">The Research<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The study looked at a group of 229 predominantly <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/lamag.com\/news\/los-angeles-cost-of-living-100k-salary-low-income#:~:text=But%20the%20data%20on%20page,may%20well%20be%20scraping%20by.\" title rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">low-income<\/a> Hispanic pregnant women in Los Angeles who were already being followed in other research. Most of the women lived in areas with fluoridated water. The researchers measured the fluoride levels in their urine in a single test during the third trimester. Then, when their children were 3 years old, the mothers filled out the <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/aseba.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/preschoolcbcl.pdf\" title rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Preschool Child Behavior Checklist<\/a>, a measure used to detect emotional, behavioral and social problems.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Overall, 14 percent of the children had a total score in the \u201cborderline clinical\u201d or \u201cclinical\u201d range, meaning that a doctor may want to watch or evaluate them, or provide additional support, Dr. Malin said. And on average, higher fluoride levels in the mothers\u2019 urine were correlated with a greater risk of behavioral problems in the children. The researchers found that women with urine fluoride levels at the 75th percentile were 83 percent more likely to have children with borderline or clinically significant behavioral problems than women with levels at the 25th percentile.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The main problems reported by the mothers were emotional reactivity, which is the tendency to overreact; somatic complaints, such as headaches and stomachaches; anxiety; and symptoms linked to autism (though those symptoms alone would not be enough for an autism diagnosis).<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The researchers did not find an association with other behavioral symptoms like aggression or issues with concentration.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The findings are important and add to evidence suggesting prenatal fluoride consumption may affect the developing brain, said Joseph Braun, a professor of epidemiology and the director of the Center for Children\u2019s Environmental Health at Brown University, who was not involved in the research. That said, the increases in behavioral scores were relatively small \u2014 about two points on a scale from 28 to 100 for overall behavioral problems. It\u2019s hard to say whether such a difference might be noticeable in an individual child, he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But given how widespread water fluoridation is, he added, even minor behavioral changes in individual children could have a meaningful impact on the overall population.<\/p>\n<div class=\"css-1336jj\">\n<div class=\"css-121kum4\">\n<div class=\"css-171d1bw\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-asuuk5\">\n<div class=\"css-7axq9l\" data-testid=\"optimistic-truncator-noscript\">\n<div data-testid=\"optimistic-truncator-noscript-message\" class=\"css-6yo1no\">\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">We are having trouble retrieving the article content.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1dv1kvn\" id=\"optimistic-truncator-a11y\">\n<hr \/>\n<p>Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/myaccount.nytimes.com\/auth\/login?response_type=cookie&amp;client_id=vi&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F05%2F22%2Fwell%2Flive%2Ffluoride-pregnancy-water.html&amp;asset=opttrunc\">log into<\/a>\u00a0your Times account, or\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F05%2F22%2Fwell%2Flive%2Ffluoride-pregnancy-water.html\">subscribe<\/a>\u00a0for all of The Times.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1g71tqy\">\n<div data-testid=\"optimistic-truncator-message\" class=\"css-6yo1no\">\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Thank you for your patience while we verify access.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Already a subscriber?\u00a0<a data-testid=\"log-in-link\" class=\"css-z5ryv4\" href=\"https:\/\/myaccount.nytimes.com\/auth\/login?response_type=cookie&amp;client_id=vi&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F05%2F22%2Fwell%2Flive%2Ffluoride-pregnancy-water.html&amp;asset=opttrunc\">Log in<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Want all of The Times?\u00a0<a data-testid=\"subscribe-link\" class=\"css-z5ryv4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F05%2F22%2Fwell%2Flive%2Ffluoride-pregnancy-water.html\">Subscribe<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>New research suggests a link between prenatal fluoride levels and behavioral issues in children. Experts are divided on the study\u2019s significance.The LatestA small study published Monday suggested that higher levels of fluoride consumed during the third trimester of pregnancy were associated with a greater risk of behavioral problems in the mothers\u2019 children at 3 years old. The authors of the study, which was funded in part by the National Institutes of Health and the Environmental Protection Agency and published in the journal JAMA Network Open, believe it is the first to examine links between prenatal fluoride exposure and child development among families living in the United States, where fluoride is often added to community water supplies to prevent dental cavities.The study\u2019s authors and some outside researchers said that the findings should prompt policymakers to evaluate the safety of fluoride consumption during pregnancy.\u201cI think it\u2019s a warning sign,\u201d said Dr. Beate Ritz, an environmental epidemiologist at the U.C.L.A. Fielding School of Public Health.But other experts cautioned that the study had several important limitations that made it difficult to assess the potential effects of fluoride consumption during pregnancy.\u201cThere is nothing about this study that alarms me or would make me recommend that pregnant women stop drinking tap water,\u201d said Dr. Patricia Braun, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and a spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics.The BackgroundFluoride strengthens tooth enamel, and research suggests that drinking water with added fluoride can reduce cavities by up to 25 percent. Many communities in the United States have added fluoride to their water for this reason since the 1940s, a practice widely celebrated as a major public health achievement. In 2020, 63 percent of people in the United States lived in areas with at least 0.7 milligrams per liter of fluoride in the water \u2014 considered optimal for cavity prevention \u2014 though some areas have levels that are higher, in part because of naturally high fluoride in the groundwater.In the last few years, several studies from Mexico and Canada have suggested that fluoride exposure during pregnancy is linked to slightly lower scores on intelligence tests and other measures of cognitive function in children.But recent studies from Spain and Denmark have found no such link.There is a \u201ccontentious debate\u201d about water fluoridation, acknowledged Ashley Malin, an assistant professor of epidemiology in the College of Public Health and Health Professions at the University of Florida and the lead author of the new study. The issue is currently the subject of a lawsuit filed by the nonprofit Food and Water Watch and other groups against the Environmental Protection Agency. The nonprofit claims that water fluoridation poses a risk to children\u2019s health.The ResearchThe study looked at a group of 229 predominantly low-income Hispanic pregnant women in Los Angeles who were already being followed in other research. Most of the women lived in areas with fluoridated water. The researchers measured the fluoride levels in their urine in a single test during the third trimester. Then, when their children were 3 years old, the mothers filled out the Preschool Child Behavior Checklist, a measure used to detect emotional, behavioral and social problems.Overall, 14 percent of the children had a total score in the \u201cborderline clinical\u201d or \u201cclinical\u201d range, meaning that a doctor may want to watch or evaluate them, or provide additional support, Dr. Malin said. And on average, higher fluoride levels in the mothers\u2019 urine were correlated with a greater risk of behavioral problems in the children. The researchers found that women with urine fluoride levels at the 75th percentile were 83 percent more likely to have children with borderline or clinically significant behavioral problems than women with levels at the 25th percentile.The main problems reported by the mothers were emotional reactivity, which is the tendency to overreact; somatic complaints, such as headaches and stomachaches; anxiety; and symptoms linked to autism (though those symptoms alone would not be enough for an autism diagnosis).The researchers did not find an association with other behavioral symptoms like aggression or issues with concentration.The findings are important and add to evidence suggesting prenatal fluoride consumption may affect the developing brain, said Joseph Braun, a professor of epidemiology and the director of the Center for Children\u2019s Environmental Health at Brown University, who was not involved in the research. That said, the increases in behavioral scores were relatively small \u2014 about two points on a scale from 28 to 100 for overall behavioral problems. It\u2019s hard to say whether such a difference might be noticeable in an individual child, he said.But given how widespread water fluoridation is, he added, even minor behavioral changes in individual children could have a meaningful impact on the overall population.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and\u00a0log into\u00a0your Times account, or\u00a0subscribe\u00a0for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber?\u00a0Log in.Want all of The Times?\u00a0Subscribe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6618,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6616","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6616","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6616"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6616\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6619,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6616\/revisions\/6619"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6618"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6616"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6616"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6616"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}