Fluoride Exposure During Pregnancy and Offspring IQ

Abstract

Research Article| December 01 2019 Fluoride Exposure During Pregnancy and Offspring IQ AAP Grand Rounds (2019) 42 (6): 70. https://doi.org/10.1542/gr.42-6-70 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Cite Icon Cite Search Site Citation Fluoride Exposure During Pregnancy and Offspring IQ. AAP Grand Rounds December 2019; 42 (6): 70. https://doi.org/10.1542/gr.42-6-70 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All PublicationsAll JournalsAAP Grand RoundsPediatricsHospital PediatricsPediatrics In ReviewNeoReviewsAAP NewsAll AAP Sites Search Advanced Search Topics: fluorides, offspring, prenatal exposure Source: Green R, Lanphear B, Hornung R, et al. Association between maternal fluoride exposure during pregnancy and IQ scores in offspring in Canada. JAMA Pediatr. 2019; 173(10): 940– 948; doi: https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2019.1729Google Scholar Investigators from multiple institutions in Canada and the United States conducted a prospective study to assess the association between prenatal fluoride exposure and IQ in children. Participants were children of women from 6 Canadian cities who were enrolled in the Maternal-Infant Research on Environmental Chemicals program during the first 14 weeks of pregnancy between 2008–2011. Prenatal exposure to fluoride was assessed using 2 measures. First, maternal urinary fluoride (MUF) concentration, adjusted for urine specific gravity, was the average fluoride concentration from 3 specimens collected during each trimester of pregnancy. The other estimate of exposure was based on self-reported consumption of tap water, tea, and coffee during the first and third trimesters; fluoride intake was then estimated based on the fluoride measurements at the water treatment plants serving the participants’ postal code. The Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (third edition) was administered to study children when they were 3–4 years old. The primary outcome was Full Scale IQ (FSIQ). Regression analyses were used to assess the association of 1 mg changes in fluoride exposures (using each measure of exposure) with this outcome. The following covariates were included in the regression models: city, maternal education level, race/ethnicity, and quality of the home environment (quantified by Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment [HOME] scores) as well as a child sex interaction term. IQ testing was completed by 601 children. Of these, MUF data were available for 512 children, and maternal fluoride intake during pregnancy information was available for 400. Mean MUF concentrations were significantly higher for women living in communities with fluoridated drinking water than in those living in communities without fluoride supplementation (0.69 mg/L and 0.40 mg/L, respectively; P<.001). The overall estimated change in FSIQ for every 1 mg/L increase in MUF concentration was −1.95 (95% CI, −5.19, 1.28). There was a significant interaction between child sex and MUF. In boys, a 1 mg/L increase in MUF was associated with a −4.49 (95% CI, −8.38, −0.60) change in FSIQ. There was no statistically significant association between MUF in FSIQ in girls. Among women with fluoride intake data, 162 (40.5%) lived in cities with fluoridated drinking water, and 238 (59.5%) drank non-fluoridated tap-water during pregnancy. A 1 mg increase in daily maternal fluoride intake during pregnancy was associated with a change in FSIQ of −3.66 (95% CI, −7.16, −0.15) in study children, with no significant interaction between intake and child sex. The authors conclude that maternal exposure to higher levels of fluoride during pregnancy was associated with lower FSIQ in their children when they were 3–4 years old. Dr Chung has disclosed no financial relationship relevant to this commentary. This commentary does not contain a discussion of an unapproved/investigative use of a commercial product/device. The AAP... You do not currently have access to this content.