Pregnant women’s fluoride exposure linked to lower IQ in babies, study shows

Pregnant women’s fluoride exposure is linked to lower IQ in their children at one- to three-years-old, according to a study published in Occupational & Environmental Medicine(2018), and at levels commonly found in U.S. women, reports the Fluoride Action Network (FAN).

Researchers, Thomas et al., found that, for every increase of 1 milligram per liter of fluoride in pregnant women's urine, their offspring averaged 2.4 points lower IQ scores at age 1-3 years-old.  This finding is statistically significant and was adjusted for confounders.

They write, our findings "suggest higher in utero exposure to fluoride has an adverse impact on offspring cognitive development that can be detected earlier, in the first three years of life.

This builds upon previous research from the same prestigious team funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) showing in utero fluoride levels associated with lower IQ in 4 and 6-12 year-olds (Environmental Health Perspectives, 2017)

Although fluoridated salt rather than fluoridated water was the main source of fluoride in Mexican pregnant women in these two studies, fluoride intake is similar and applicable to those consuming artificially fluoridated water. For example, the Mexican women's urine fluoride levels are similar to levels found in pregnant women in fluoridated New Zealand (Brough et al. 2015).......................