CHILDREN AND IQ
The Tehran Medical University and Institute for Environmental Research presented data at the International Society for Fluoride Research’s annual conference demonstrating that increased fluoride exposure in water dramatically affected intelligence in children aged 9 – 12 years of age.
These research bodies conducted studies comparing the IQ of children in low fluoride areas, with fluoride levels in water less than 0.26ppm, to similar communities with fluoride levels of 3.9ppm. The mean IQ of children in the low fluoride area was 104.25, compared to 81.21 in the higher fluoride community. 16% of children in the high fluoride area were classified as ‘mentally retarded’, with an IQ less than 70, compared to 5% in the low fluoride area.
The differences ran right through the groups examined. 42% of children in the high fluoride area were below average in IQ, compared to 5% in the low fluoride community. Zero percent of children in the high fluoride community had an IQ greater than 129, compared to 15% in the low fluoride community. The researchers concluded that increased fluoride exposure impairs intellectual development and reduces IQ in children.
A total of 37 studies, including studies conducted in China, India and Mexico, have now shown a connection between lowered IQ in children and fluoride exposure. One of the Chinese studies found lowered IQ in children drinking water with a fluoride concentration of only 1.9ppm. IQ reduction has been associated with fluoride levels of just 0.88ppm amongst children with iodine deficiency. Irish tap water contained 1ppm of fluoride until 2007, when it was lowered to 0.8ppm. The WHO has warned that the Irish population is iodine deficient, making Irish people more susceptible to fluoride toxicity.
There are major concerns that the margin of safety in Ireland is inadequate, especially when we consider the intake of fluoride by children from other sources aside from water, including toothpaste, food, and medications such as asthma-inhalers.

AUTISM
Professor Anna Strunecka, medical biochemist at Charles University in Prague and author of Cellular and Molecular Biology of Autism Spectrum Disorders, presented a paper, ‘The Potential Role of Fluoride in Autism Spectrum Disorders’. Her study concluded that the source of the chronic immune activation within the brain, which leads to the disrupted brain development and function associated with autism, could include several factors, including fluoride and colloidal silicon exposure, from water fluoridation.
There is an alarming increase in the incidence of autism overall, with rates increasing from 1 in 2,325 births prior to the 1980s, to 1 in 101 births today. For male children, the incidence is now 1 in 67 births in some areas of the USA. The countries with the highest prevalence of autism are all fluoridated countries. Ireland has one of the highest rates of autism in the world.

CHRONIC DISEASE
Professor Joerg Spitz, representing the Society for Medical Information and Prevention in Germany, presented data showing that increased exposure to fluorides leads to an increase in chronic diseases, through increased inflammation; increased production of free radicals; fluoride’s role as an enzymatic inhibitor; its ability to inhibit protein synthesis and interfere with metabolic pathways; and in particular, its effect as a low-dose endocrine disruptor. Professor Spitz stated that to reduce the burden of chronic disease, we must reduce and minimise our exposure to fluorides. In Ireland, according to the HSE, one in three people now suffers from a chronic disease. In the US, it’s one in two.

HEART DISEASE
Prof Xiaoyan Yan and Dr. Jundong Wang from China presented a paper on the role of fluoride in heart disease. Their data confirmed that since the 1960s, both human and animal studies have shown that increased fluoride exposure results in myocardial damage and increased mortality from heart disease. Animal studies have shown that fluoride increases oxidative stress in heart muscle and has a direct effect on cardiac contraction. Ireland has the highest rates of premature morbidity from ischemic heart disease in Western Europe. We also have a higher rate of people dying at an early age from sudden heart attack than anywhere else in Europe.

FOETAL DEVELOPMENT AND MALE FERTILITY
Dr. Dushyant Singh Chauhan from India presented a paper showing how fluoride toxicity reduces semen quality in males by altering trace metal concentrations in seminal plasma. It also interferes with foetal development in pregnant women by increasing oxidative burden. Chauhan concluded that fluoride should be avoided during pregnancy. There has been a massive increase in fertility problems in Ireland over the past 50 years, including reduced fertility in men.

Declan Waugh will discuss the Tehran fluoride conference and give a summary of his keynote presentation during an International Fluoride Free Teleconference, which takes place on November 10. To get involved in this teleconference, visit the organiser’s Facebook page.