ADHD: Alarms Raised; Risks Ignored

The researchers found an unequivocal association between higher prenatal fluoride exposure and behavioral symptoms of inattention …

Fluoride

Accumulating research is making it more difficult for public health officials to deny that fluoride has neurotoxic effects on cognition and behavior. Studies show that neurotoxic impacts readily result from the levels of fluoride exposure that North American children typically encounter in municipal water supplies.

In studies published this year in JAMA Pediatrics and Environment International, Canadian researchers reported:

• A strong association between maternal exposure to higher fluoride levels during pregnancy and lower IQ scores in children, even among women exposed to “optimally fluoridated water”; and
• A strong association between fluoride in tap water and an increased risk of ADHD symptoms and diagnosis, especially among adolescents.

Another recent study of Mexican children between 6 and 12 years of age—funded in part by the U.S. government—sought to characterize the association between prenatal fluoride exposure and outcomes that included ADHD symptoms. Study strengths included extensive longitudinal follow-up as well as the capture of “high quality individual biomarker exposure across multiple developmental time points” and “detailed assessment of ADHD-like behaviors.” The researchers found an unequivocal association between higher prenatal fluoride exposure and behavioral symptoms of inattention (though not ADHD symptoms of hyperactivity or impulsivity). Despite the U.S. government funding, the Mexico-based research went unmentioned by virtually all the major U.S. media.