More fuel for the fluoride fire
A study coming out today identifies risk to kids' IQs from fluoride--but in higher doses than used in the US, and is not related to use of fluoride in water.
A new meta-study coming out today in JAMA Pediatrics including 74 studies on the safety of fluoride use for kids found a slight decrease in IQ scores overall with increased fluoride. However, none of the included studies were conducted in the US, and foreign studies have usually included higher dosages of fluoride than used in the US. The authors of the analysis noted many of the included papers published elsewhere had a “high degree of bias.”
The authors were also clear their work was not intended to study the benefits of water fluoridation, or to address broader public health implications of water fluoridation in the US. But in the current political environment, we can count on simplified reporting in many news outlets that does not dig into those details or disclaimers.
STATNews* has a more on the meta-study; read it here.
*STAT focuses on health, life science, medicine and biotech news. AllSides gives STAT a “center” rating. Media with a center rating either do not show predictable media bias, display a balance of articles with left and right biases, or equally balance left and right perspectives.
Well done! Thank you for calling attention to this new finding and doing so responsibly. I can already envision when the media gets a hold of this story. I saw it in JAMA, and my first thought was, "Here we go." I found you from your recommendation of The Periprofessional (thank you!); that's me, too. I also have this Substack, the Women's Health 365 Collective, and you would be a great addition. Please check it out when you get a chance. I promote a lot of women's health Substackers through my work here and would be happy to include you. Best, Shelby