F.A.N. Newsletter

 

“Researchers say healthy thyroid function is crucial for fetal brain development and their latest research may explain earlier findings looking at fluoride and children’s IQ”

Dear Friends:   A new study (Hall, et al., 2023) led by scientists from Toronto’s York University in the journal Science of the Total Environment linked fluoride exposure with an increased risk of hypothyroidism in pregnant women. Fluoridated water was the main source of fluoride in the cohort. The study also looked at a smaller subset of participants with IQ test results in the children and found that mothers who had been diagnosed with hypothyroidism had boys with lower IQ scores than mothers with normal thyroid function.    Entitled, Fluoride Exposure And Hypothyroidism In A Canadian Pregnancy Cohort, the study discovered that a half-milligram-per liter increase in drinking water fluoride levels–roughly the difference in exposure level between the fluoridated and non-fluoridated communities–was associated with a 1.65 increase in odds of having a diagnosis or meeting criteria for hypothyroidism in pregnancy.   According to one study author, clinical neuropsychologist Christine Till, PhD, “The findings are concerning because hypothyroidism is a known cause of brain-based disorders in children.” (York press release)    The study’s authors say they hope that policy makers will consider this new research when evaluating the safety of community water fluoridation. They say that the fluoride compounds added to tap water are a major source of fluoride exposure for over 200-million people in North America, since approximately four in 10 Canadians and seven out of 10 Americans on public water supplies have fluoridated drinking water. .................. Read the press release from York University See York’s Twitter Post