March 11, 2015
We
have exciting news! On Tuesday, Newsweek published a second
well-written article on fluoridation, this time highlighting the new
study linking fluoridation to an increase in attention deficit
hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), while also informing readers about many
of the other risks associated with water fluoridation.
The article, entitled “Water Fluoridation Linked to Higher ADHD rates,” reports on the recently published study in the journal Environmental Health that was the first study to examine the relationship between the behavioral disorder and water fluoridation. The study, “Exposure
to fluoridated water and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
prevalence among children and adolescents in the United States: an
ecological association,” found the following:“State prevalence of artificial water fluoridation in 1992 significantly positively predicted state prevalence of ADHD in 2003, 2007 and 2011, even after controlling for socioeconomic status.
A multivariate regression analysis showed that after socioeconomic status was controlled each 1% increase in artificial fluoridation prevalence in 1992 was associated with approximately 67,000 to 131,000 additional ADHD diagnoses from 2003 to 2011. Overall state water fluoridation prevalence (not distinguishing between fluoridation types) was also significantly positively correlated with state prevalence of ADHD for all but one year examined.
Conclusions: Parents reported higher rates of medically-diagnosed ADHD in their children in states in which a greater proportion of people receive fluoridated water from public water supplies."
The must-read Newsweek article offers a comprehensive review of the latest research on fluoridation. It cites FAN's compilation of over 40 IQ studies, a database of papers that includes many foreign studies for which FAN procured professional translations and was also responsible for bringing to the public's attention. The article also quotes several scientific and medical experts who agree that the concern over the practice ought to be taken seriously. Here are just a few of the quotes:
- “The results are plausible, and indeed meaningful,” says Dr. Philippe Grandjean, a physician and epidemiologist at Harvard University. This and other recent studies suggest that we should “reconsider the need to add fluoride to drinking water at current levels,” he adds.
- Thomas Zoeller, a scientist at UMass-Amherst who studies endocrine disruptors—chemicals that interfere with the activity of the body’s hormones, something fluoride has been shown to do—says that this is “an important observation in part because it is a first-of-a-kind. Given the number of children in the U.S. exposed to fluoridation, it is important to follow this up.”
- Nevertheless, previous research has suggested that there may be several mechanisms by which fluoride could interfere in brain development and play a role in ADHD, says Dr. Caroline Martinez, a pediatrician and researcher at New York’s Mount Sinai Hospital.
Help FAN make these articles go viral. Please share the articles on your social media pages using the links below and by sharing the posts from FAN’s Facebook page. Post these articles to your blogs, your websites, and please email them to local and state officials, as well as community leaders and local media outlets.
While we have the truth and the science on our side, we don’t always have a balanced media reporting it, so please take advantage of this opportunity to share and distribute these articles and studies as widely as possible:
Harvard Researcher Calls For Reduction in Fluoride Levels
Harvard adjunct professor of environmental Health and co-author of the 2012 Harvard Meta-analysis that highlighted fluoride’s role as a developmental neurotoxin, Philippe Grandjean, MD, PhD, has called for fluoride levels in water to be lowered "right away." The Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health released a press release yesterday that made the announcement quoting Grandjean:
“Just because we did studies over the last 70 years, it doesn’t mean that we did everything that is necessary to know for sure that fluoridation is not toxic to some processes in the body or development of the brain. Those studies have actually not been done,”
“I’ve worked in this field long enough to know that with time, we have found that lead, mercury, and pesticides were more toxic than we originally thought. I am not willing to sit here and say, okay, let’s expose the next generation’s brains and just hope for the best.”
You can hear Dr. Grandjean discuss his concerns about fluoridation in a recent radio interview where he spars with the American Dental Association's spokesperson and university professor Howard Pollick, BDS, MPH.
Just two weeks ago Dr. Grandjean, along with his IQ study co-author, Anna Choi, ScD, wrote a letter responding to pro-fluoridation criticism of their work by Dr. Jonathan Broadbent, a well known pro-fluoridationist in New Zealand. Broadbent’s counter-study and Grandjean's letter in response were both published in the American Journal of Public Health. In his response Grandjean states,
“We are therefore concerned that the safety of elevated fluoride exposure is being exaggerated in ways similar to those employed by vested interests to misconstrue the scientific evidence of other neurotoxicants, such as lead, mercury, and certain pesticides. Firm dismissal of fluoride as a potential neurotoxic hazard would seem premature.”
Dr. Broadbent has yet to offer a response to Dr. Grandjean’s letter.
Hear Directly From the Experts on These Latest Studies This month’s International Fluoride Free Teleconference will be held this Saturday, March 14th at 5:00pm (Eastern Time). The call will feature FAN's scientific experts, including Dr. Paul Connett and Dr. Bill Hirzy discussing the current state of research on fluoridation, including the most recently published studies on IQ, hypothyroidism, and ADHD. This will be your opportunity to learn the details of these studies, what they mean for the fluoridation debate, and have your questions answered by experts.
Stuart Cooper
Campaign Manager
Fluoride Action Network
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