Medical Dialogues
  • Dermatology
Login Register
This site is intended for healthcare professionals only
Login Register
  • MD Brand Connect
  • Vaccine Hub
  • MDTV
    • Breaking News
    • Medical News Today
    • Health News Today
    • Latest
    • Journal Club
    • Medico Legal Update
    • Latest Webinars
    • MD Shorts
    • Health Dialogues
  • Fact Check
  • Health Dialogues
Medical Dialogues
  • Medical News & Guidelines
      • Anesthesiology
      • Cardiology and CTVS
      • Critical Care
      • Dentistry
      • Dermatology
      • Diabetes and Endocrinology
      • ENT
      • Gastroenterology
      • Medicine
      • Nephrology
      • Neurology
      • Obstretics-Gynaecology
      • Oncology
      • Ophthalmology
      • Orthopaedics
      • Pediatrics-Neonatology
      • Psychiatry
      • Pulmonology
      • Radiology
      • Surgery
      • Urology
      • Laboratory Medicine
      • Diet
      • Nursing
      • Paramedical
      • Physiotherapy
  • Health news
      • Doctor News
      • Government Policies
      • Hospital & Diagnostics
      • International Health News
      • Medical Organization News
      • Medico Legal News
      • NBE News
      • NMC News
  • Fact Check
      • Bone Health Fact Check
      • Brain Health Fact Check
      • Cancer Related Fact Check
      • Child Care Fact Check
      • Dental and oral health fact check
      • Diabetes and metabolic health fact check
      • Diet and Nutrition Fact Check
      • Eye and ENT Care Fact Check
      • Fitness fact check
      • Gut health fact check
      • Heart health fact check
      • Kidney health fact check
      • Medical education fact check
      • Men's health fact check
      • Respiratory fact check
      • Skin and hair care fact check
      • Vaccine and Immunization fact check
      • Women's health fact check
  • AYUSH
    • Ayurveda
    • Homeopathy
    • Siddha
    • Unani
    • Yoga
  • State News
      • Andaman and Nicobar Islands
      • Andhra Pradesh
      • Arunachal Pradesh
      • Assam
      • Bihar
      • Chandigarh
      • Chattisgarh
      • Dadra and Nagar Haveli
      • Daman and Diu
      • Delhi
      • Goa
      • Gujarat
      • Haryana
      • Himachal Pradesh
      • Jammu & Kashmir
      • Jharkhand
      • Karnataka
      • Kerala
      • Ladakh
      • Lakshadweep
      • Madhya Pradesh
      • Maharashtra
      • Manipur
      • Meghalaya
      • Mizoram
      • Nagaland
      • Odisha
      • Puducherry
      • Punjab
      • Rajasthan
      • Sikkim
      • Tamil Nadu
      • Telangana
      • Tripura
      • Uttar Pradesh
      • Uttrakhand
      • West Bengal
  • Medical Education
      • Ayush Education News
      • Dentistry Education News
      • Medical Admission News
      • Medical Colleges News
      • Medical Courses News
      • Medical Universities News
      • Nursing education News
      • Paramedical Education News
      • Study Abroad
  • Industry
      • Health Investment News
      • Health Startup News
      • Medical Devices News
      • Pharma News
      • Pharmacy Education News
      • Industry Perspective
  • MDTV
      • Health Dialogues MDTV
      • Health News today MDTV
      • Latest Videos MDTV
      • Latest Webinars MDTV
      • MD shorts MDTV
      • Medical News Today MDTV
      • Medico Legal Update MDTV
      • Top Videos MDTV
      • Health Perspectives MDTV
      • Journal Club MDTV
      • Medical Dialogues Show
This site is intended for healthcare professionals only
LoginRegister
Medical Dialogues
LoginRegister
  • Home
  • Medical news & Guidelines
    • Anesthesiology
    • Cardiology and CTVS
    • Critical Care
    • Dentistry
    • Dermatology
    • Diabetes and Endocrinology
    • ENT
    • Gastroenterology
    • Medicine
    • Nephrology
    • Neurology
    • Obstretics-Gynaecology
    • Oncology
    • Ophthalmology
    • Orthopaedics
    • Pediatrics-Neonatology
    • Psychiatry
    • Pulmonology
    • Radiology
    • Surgery
    • Urology
    • Laboratory Medicine
    • Diet
    • Nursing
    • Paramedical
    • Physiotherapy
  • Health news
    • Doctor News
    • Government Policies
    • Hospital & Diagnostics
    • International Health News
    • Medical Organization News
    • Medico Legal News
    • NBE News
    • NMC News
  • Fact Check
    • Bone Health Fact Check
    • Brain Health Fact Check
    • Cancer Related Fact Check
    • Child Care Fact Check
    • Dental and oral health fact check
    • Diabetes and metabolic health fact check
    • Diet and Nutrition Fact Check
    • Eye and ENT Care Fact Check
    • Fitness fact check
    • Gut health fact check
    • Heart health fact check
    • Kidney health fact check
    • Medical education fact check
    • Men's health fact check
    • Respiratory fact check
    • Skin and hair care fact check
    • Vaccine and Immunization fact check
    • Women's health fact check
  • AYUSH
    • Ayurveda
      • Ayurveda Giuidelines
      • Ayurveda News
    • Homeopathy
      • Homeopathy Guidelines
      • Homeopathy News
    • Siddha
      • Siddha Guidelines
      • Siddha News
    • Unani
      • Unani Guidelines
      • Unani News
    • Yoga
      • Yoga Guidelines
      • Yoga News
  • State News
    • Andaman and Nicobar Islands
    • Andhra Pradesh
    • Arunachal Pradesh
    • Assam
    • Bihar
    • Chandigarh
    • Chattisgarh
    • Dadra and Nagar Haveli
    • Daman and Diu
    • Delhi
    • Goa
    • Gujarat
    • Haryana
    • Himachal Pradesh
    • Jammu & Kashmir
    • Jharkhand
    • Karnataka
    • Kerala
    • Ladakh
    • Lakshadweep
    • Madhya Pradesh
    • Maharashtra
    • Manipur
    • Meghalaya
    • Mizoram
    • Nagaland
    • Odisha
    • Puducherry
    • Punjab
    • Rajasthan
    • Sikkim
    • Tamil Nadu
    • Telangana
    • Tripura
    • Uttar Pradesh
    • Uttrakhand
    • West Bengal
  • Medical Education
    • Ayush Education News
    • Dentistry Education News
    • Medical Admission News
    • Medical Colleges News
    • Medical Courses News
    • Medical Universities News
    • Nursing education News
    • Paramedical Education News
    • Study Abroad
  • Industry
    • Health Investment News
    • Health Startup News
    • Medical Devices News
    • Pharma News
      • CDSCO (Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation) News
    • Pharmacy Education News
    • Industry Perspective
  • Home
  • Pediatrics and Neonatology
  • Pediatrics and Neonatology News
  • Fluoride in drinking...

Fluoride in drinking water associated with impaired childhood cognition, reveals research

Dr. Kamal Kant KohliWritten by Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli Published On 2025-03-09T22:00:48+05:30  |  Updated On 9 March 2025 10:01 PM IST
Fluoride in drinking water associated with impaired childhood cognition, reveals research
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • linkedin
  • whatsapp
  • Telegram
  • Email

Elevated concentrations of fluoride can occur in well water, and in some countries, it is added to drinking water to counteract caries in the population. A study from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden now supports a few previous studies indicating that exposure to fluoride during the fetal stage or early childhood may impair cognition in children. The study is published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.

Fluoride occurs naturally as fluoride ions in drinking water, but the concentrations are generally low in public water supplies. In some countries, such as the USA, Canada, Chile, Australia and Ireland, fluoride is commonly added to the municipal water supply at around 0.7 mg per litre to prevent caries.

“Given the concern about health risks, the addition of fluoride to drinking water is controversial and has been widely debated in the USA and Canada,” says Maria Kippler, associate professor at the Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet. “Our results support the hypothesis that even relatively low concentrations of fluoride can impact children’s early development.”

500 mothers and children

The researchers followed 500 mothers and their children in rural Bangladesh, where fluoride occurs naturally in the drinking water, to investigate the association between early exposure to fluoride and children’s cognitive abilities. The concentrations are similar to those found in many other countries worldwide.

Trained psychologists evaluated the children’s cognitive abilities at five and ten years of age, using well-established tests. The exposure to fluoride in the mothers and children was determined by measuring the concentrations in urine samples, which reflects ongoing exposure to all sources, such as drinking water, food and dental care products.

“I’d like to stress that dental care products such as toothpaste are not normally a significant source of exposure since they are not intended for ingestion,” says Dr Kippler. “Fluoride in toothpaste is important for prevention of caries, but it’s important to encourage small children not to swallow the toothpaste during brushing.”

Decreased cognitive abilities

The median concentration of fluoride in urine of the pregnant Bangladeshi women was 0.63 mg/L. Increasing concentrations of fluoride in the pregnant women could be linked to decreasing cognitive abilities in their children at five and ten years of age.

Children that had more than 0.72 mg/L fluoride in their urine by the age of ten also had lower cognitive abilities than children with less fluoride in their urine, with most pronounced associations for verbal reasoning skills and the ability to interpret and process sensory input. The exposures that were associated with impaired cognitive development are lower than those obtained at the existing WHO and EU threshold for fluoride in drinking water, which is 1.5 mg/L.

The researchers found no statistically significant link between fluoride concentrations in the urine of the five-year-olds and their cognitive abilities.

“This may be due to the shorter exposure time,” Dr Kippler speculates, “but also to the fact that urinary fluoride concentrations aren’t as reliable in younger children owing to greater variations in how much fluoride is taken up and stored in the body, particularly in the bones.”

More studies needed

Since it was an observational study, no firm conclusions can be drawn about causalities. It is therefore important to assess the overall results of several similar longitudinal studies, according to the researchers. They will now investigate the associations in other populations and establish experimental models to determine the possible molecular mechanisms driving it.

“There is a need for more research to create a robust basis for reviewing fluoride health risks and thresholds for drinking water, foods, and dental care products, especially for children,” she continues. “Even small changes in cognition at a population level can have serious public health consequences.”

Reference:

Taranbir Singh, Klara Gustin, Syed Moshfiqur Rahman, Shamima Shiraji, Fahmida Tofail, Marie Vahter, Mariza Kampouri, and Maria Kippler, Prenatal and childhood exposure to fluoride and cognitive development: findings from the longitudinal MINIMat cohort in rural Bangladesh, Environmental Health Perspectives, https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP14534.

Environmental Health PerspectivesFluoridecognitive developmentcognitive abilities
Source : Environmental Health Perspectives
Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli
Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli

Dr Kamal Kant Kohli-MBBS, DTCD- a chest specialist with more than 30 years of practice and a flair for writing clinical articles, Dr Kamal Kant Kohli joined Medical Dialogues as a Chief Editor of Medical News. Besides writing articles, as an editor, he proofreads and verifies all the medical content published on Medical Dialogues including those coming from journals, studies,medical conferences,guidelines etc. Email: drkohli@medicaldialogues.in. Contact no. 011-43720751

Show Full Article
Next Story

Editorial

National Consensus 2025 on Role of Bisoprolol Across CV Continuum in Women: Top 10 Takeaways

National Consensus 2025 on Role of Bisoprolol Across CV Continuum in Women: Top 10 Takeaways

Relevance of Pioglitazone in Indian T2DM Care Continuum

Relevance of Pioglitazone in Indian T2DM Care Continuum

Azmarda Outperforms Generic Sacubitril/Valsartan in HFrEF Management, says new study

Azmarda Outperforms Generic Sacubitril/Valsartan in HFrEF Management, says new study

First Indian Consensus on Managing Refractory Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease Recommends Vonoprazan

First Indian Consensus on Managing Refractory Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease Recommends Vonoprazan

Re-visiting the Role of Pneumococcal Vaccination in Patients with Cardiovascular Diseases

Re-visiting the Role of Pneumococcal Vaccination in Patients with Cardiovascular Diseases

View All

Journal Club Today

Study Reveals Why Your Immune System Works Better in Daylight

Study Reveals Why Your Immune System Works Better in Daylight

View All

Health News Today

Health Bulletin 29/May/2025

Health Bulletin 29/May/2025

View All
© 2022 All Rights Reserved.
Powered By: Hocalwire
X
We use cookies for analytics, advertising and to improve our site. You agree to our use of cookies by continuing to use our site. To know more, see our Cookie Policy and Cookie Settings.Ok