Abstract
BackgroundThe concentration of fluoride in ground drinking water greater than the world health organization standard value imposes a serious health, social and economic problem in developing countries. In the Ethiopian Rift Valley where deep wells are the major source of drinking water, high fluoride level is expected. Though many epidemiological studies on fluoride concentration and its adverse effects have been conducted in the region, the result is highly scattered and needs systematically summarized for better utilization.ObjectiveThis research is aimed at estimating the pooled level of fluoride concentration in ground drinking water and the prevalence of dental fluorosis among Ethiopian rift valley residences.MethodsCochrane library, MEDLINE/PubMed and Google scholar databases were searched for studies reporting the mean concentration of fluoride in ground water and prevalence of dental fluorosis in Ethiopian Rift valley. Search terms were identified by extracting key terms from reviews and selected relevant papers and review medical subject headings for relevant terms.ResultsThe mean fluoride level in ground water and the prevalence of dental fluorosis were pooled from eleven and nine primary studies conducted in Ethiopian Rift Valley respectively. The pooled mean level of fluoride in ground water therefore was 6.03 mg/l (95% CI; 4.72–7.72, p < 0.001) and the pooled prevalence of dental fluorosis among residents in Ethiopian rift valley was 32% (95% CI: 25, 39%, p < 0.001), 29% (95% CI: 22, 36%, p < 0.001) and 24% (95% CI: 17, 32%, p < 0.001 for mild, moderate and sever dental fluorosis respectively. The overall prevalence of dental fluorosis is 28% (95% CI, 24, 32%, p < 0.001).ConclusionsThough, the concentration level varies across different part of the rift valley region, still the level of fluoride in ground drinking water is greater than the WHO standard value (1.5 mg/l). Relatively high-level pooled prevalence of dental fluorosis was also seen in Ethiopian rift valley. Therefore, further studies covering the temperature, exposure time and other intake path ways with large sample size is recommended. Interventional projects should be implemented to decrease the concentration of fluoride in the ground drinking water source.
Highlights
The concentration of fluoride in ground drinking water greater than the world health organization standard value imposes a serious health, social and economic problem in developing countries
The mean fluoride level in ground water and the prevalence of dental fluorosis were pooled from eleven and nine primary studies conducted in Ethiopian Rift Valley respectively
The pooled mean level of fluoride in ground water was 6.03 mg/l and the pooled prevalence of dental fluorosis among residents in Ethiopian rift valley was 32%, 29% and 24%
Summary
The concentration of fluoride in ground drinking water greater than the world health organization standard value imposes a serious health, social and economic problem in developing countries. Fluoride is one of among chemicals that has been shown to cause significant effects in people through drinking-water [1, 2]. It could enter the human body through the ingestion of food, drinking water, inhalation and dermal contact. At its low concentrations in drinking-water, fluoride has beneficial effects on teeth development, but excessive exposure (greater than the WHO guideline value of 1.5 mg/l), can give rise to a number of adverse effects [4,5,6]. Dental fluorosis is a developmental disturbance of dental enamel, caused by successive exposures to high level of fluoride during tooth development [2, 8]
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