Early Childhood Fluoride Exposure Linked to Cognitive Development

The International Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research (IADR) and the American Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research (AADOCR) have announced the release of a new study that explores how early fluoride exposure impacts cognitive development in young children. ()

Early Fluoride Exposure and Adult Intelligence

It is important to maintain confidence in the risk and benefit balance of major caries-preventive programs using fluoride. The ongoing debate about potential effects of early life exposures to fluoride on cognitive neurodevelopment requires high quality scientific evidence. The new study by Loc Do, The University of Queensland Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences, School of Dentistry, Brisbane, Australia, et al. aimed to investigate potential effects of fluoride exposure on cognitive neurodevelopment assessed with the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale 4th edition (WAIS-IV) in an Australian population-based sample.

‘Early childhood #fluoride exposure may not impact #cognitive development. #fluorosis’

"The fluoridation of drinking water has been enormously beneficial to oral health over the decades, and to public health more generally," said AADOCR President Effie Ioannidou. "It is crucial that a wealth of scientific evidence always be available should the public ever need reminding of this fact."

The sample was selected from the National Child Oral Health Study (NCOHS) 2012-14. NCOHS collected data on socioeconomic factors, oral health behaviors, and residential history to estimate percent lifetime exposure to fluoridated water during the first five years of life (%LEFW). NCOHS children were also examined by trained and calibrated examiners to assess dental fluorosis (a reliable and valid individual biomarker of total fluoride intake during early childhood). The sample was followed up in 2022-23 to collect data on cognitive neurodevelopment (intelligence quotient (IQ)) using the WAIS-IV, which was administered by trained and calibrated qualified psychologists.

Multivariable regression models were generated to investigate associations between the two exposure measurements (%LEFW and dental fluorosis) with full-scale IQ (FSIQ) scores, controlling for important confounding effects. Hypotheses of noninferiority were also tested contrasting different levels of exposure to fluoride. Some 357 participants aged 16-26 years completed WAIS-IV, with a mean FSIQ score of 109.2 (95%CI: 107.8-110.5). The multivariable regression models' estimates demonstrated slightly higher the FSIQ scores among the exposed than the non-exposed. Adjusted β of 100%LEFW vs. 0%LEFW was 1.07 (95%CI: -2.86, 5.01), and of having dental fluorosis vs. no fluorosis was 0.28 (95%CI: -3.00, 3.57).

The hypothesis of non-inferiority tests found that the FSIQ scores of those exposed and non-exposed to fluoride were equivalent.

Reference:

1. Early Childhood Exposures to Fluorides and Cognitive Neurodevelopment: A Population-Based Longitudinal Study - (https:journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00220345241299352)

Source: Eurekalert