Association between fluoride exposure in drinking water and cognitive deficits in children: A pilot study

IF 2.6 3区医学 Q3 NEUROSCIENCES

Neurotoxicology and teratology Pub Date : 2023-09-09 DOI:10.1016/j.ntt.2023.107293

Tewodros Rango Godebo , Marc Jeuland , Redda Tekle-Haimanot , Biniyam Alemayehu , Arti Shankar , Amy Wolfe , Nati Phan

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Fluoride (F) exposure in drinking water may lead to reduced cognitive function among children; however, findings largely remain inconclusive. In this pilot study, we examined associations between a range of chronic F exposures (low to high: 0.4 to 15.5 mg/L) in drinking water and cognition in school-aged children (5–14 years, n = 74) in rural Ethiopia. Fluoride exposure was determined from samples of community-based drinking water wells and urine. Cognitive performance was measured using: 1) assessments of ability to draw familiar objects (donkey, house, and person), and 2) a validated Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery's (CANTAB) Paired Associate Learning (PAL), which examines memory and new learning and is closely associated with hippocampus function of the brain. Associations between F and cognitive outcomes were evaluated using regression analysis, adjusting for demographic, health status, and other covariates. The median (range) of water and urine F levels was 7.6 (0.4–15.5 mg/L) and 6.3 (0.5–15.7 mg/L), respectively; these measures were strongly correlated (r = 0.74), indicating that water is the primary source of F exposure. Fluoride in drinking water was negatively associated with cognitive function, measured by both drawing and CANTAB test performance. Inverse relationships were also found between F and drawing objects task scores, after adjusting for covariates (p < 0.05). Further analysis using CANTAB PAL tasks in the children confirmed that F level in drinking water was positively associated with the number of errors made by children (p < 0.01), also after adjusting for covariates (p < 0.05). This association between water F and total errors made became markedly stronger as PAL task difficulty increased. Fluoride exposure was also inversely associated with other PAL tasksthe number of patterns reached, first attempt memory score and mean errors to success. These findings provide supportive evidence that high F exposures may be associated with cognitive deficits in children. Additional well-designed studies are critically needed to establish the neurotoxicity of F in children and adults exposed to both low levels known to protect dental caries, as well as excess F levels in drinking water.

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饮用水中氟暴露与儿童认知缺陷之间的关系：一项试点研究。

饮用水中接触氟可能导致儿童认知功能下降；然而，研究结果在很大程度上仍然没有定论。在这项试点研究中，我们调查了埃塞俄比亚农村学龄儿童（5-14岁，n=74）饮用水中一系列慢性氟暴露（从低到高：0.4至15.5 mg/L）与认知之间的关系。从社区饮用水井和尿液样本中测定氟化物暴露量。认知表现的测量使用：1）绘制熟悉物体（驴、房子和人）的能力评估，以及2）经验证的剑桥神经心理测试自动电池配对辅助学习（PAL），该测试检查记忆和新学习，并与大脑的海马体功能密切相关。使用回归分析评估F和认知结果之间的相关性，并根据人口统计学、健康状况和其他协变量进行调整。水和尿液F水平的中位数（范围）分别为7.6（0.4-15.5 mg/L）和6.3（0.5-15.7 mg/L）；这些指标具有很强的相关性（r=0.74），表明水是F暴露的主要来源。饮用水中的氟化物与认知功能呈负相关，通过绘图和CANTAB测试来测量。在调整协变量后，F和绘图对象任务得分之间也存在相反的关系（p

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来源期刊

Neurotoxicology and teratology 医学-毒理学

CiteScore

5.60

自引率

10.30%

发文量

审稿时长

58 days

期刊介绍： Neurotoxicology and Teratology provides a forum for publishing new information regarding the effects of chemical and physical agents on the developing, adult or aging nervous system. In this context, the fields of neurotoxicology and teratology include studies of agent-induced alterations of nervous system function, with a focus on behavioral outcomes and their underlying physiological and neurochemical mechanisms. The Journal publishes original, peer-reviewed Research Reports of experimental, clinical, and epidemiological studies that address the neurotoxicity and/or functional teratology of pesticides, solvents, heavy metals, nanomaterials, organometals, industrial compounds, mixtures, drugs of abuse, pharmaceuticals, animal and plant toxins, atmospheric reaction products, and physical agents such as radiation and noise. These reports include traditional mammalian neurotoxicology experiments, human studies, studies using non-mammalian animal models, and mechanistic studies in vivo or in vitro. Special Issues, Reviews, Commentaries, Meeting Reports, and Symposium Papers provide timely updates on areas that have reached a critical point of synthesis, on aspects of a scientific field undergoing rapid change, or on areas that present special methodological or interpretive problems. Theoretical Articles address concepts and potential mechanisms underlying actions of agents of interest in the nervous system. The Journal also publishes Brief Communications that concisely describe a new method, technique, apparatus, or experimental result.