Massive Study Finds No Link Between Fluoride in Tap Water and Lower Child IQ

"A new decades-long study has found no evidence that exposure to recommended levels of fluoride lowers children's cognitive skills. The research, which was published on Wednesday in Science Advances, challenges U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.'s earlier claim that adding fluoride to tap water may harm cognition. Citing fears that the chemical negatively affects brain development, several U.S. cities and states are either in the process of reevaluating the inclusion of fluoride in their water supply or have already moved to remove it. The new paper's findings, however, offer U.S.-based evidence that the public health intervention is safe, says University of Minnesota sociologist and study co-author John Robert Warren."

"The new study is a much needed addition to a broad literature that shows the safety and benefits of community water fluoridation, says University of California, San Francisco, pediatrician Susan Fisher-Owens, who was not involved in the work. It is the first study that looks at this information in the United States, which makes it a stronger basis for making policy decisions."

"Fluoride was first added to drinking water in parts of the U.S. in 1945 to prevent tooth decay, one of the most common chronic childhood diseases. The practice, first adopted in Grand Rapids, Mich., was, in 1999, praised by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as among the greatest public health achievements of the 20th century. Today more than 62 percent of the U.S. population receives fluoridated water. Generally, U.S. water systems have 0.7 milligram of fluoride per liter of water."

Decades-long research found no evidence that exposure to recommended levels of fluoride lowers children's cognitive skills. The findings counter claims that fluoride in tap water harms brain development and arrive as several U.S. jurisdictions reevaluate or remove fluoridation over safety concerns. The results provide U.S.-based evidence supporting the safety and benefits of community water fluoridation and strengthen the basis for policy decisions. Fluoride was first added to U.S. drinking water in 1945 to prevent tooth decay and is now received by over 62 percent of the population at about 0.7 milligram per liter.

Read at www.scientificamerican.com