Fluoridated Water and Life Decay:
Ecological Correlations and Costs
Alzheimer's Disease | Vascular Diseases | Hypertension
Hypothyroidism/IQ loss | Kidney Disease | ADHD
Mental Retardation | Arthritis | Cancer
Total Costs and Savings
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Fluoridated Water and Alzheimer's Disease
March 2019: "A dose-response pattern of association was observed between mean fluoride levels [in drinking water] and dementia in women and men, with dementia risk more than doubled in the highest quartile compared with the lowest." [Russ et al.] In the 20 states whose public drinking water was more than 80% fluoridated (avg. 93%), death rates from Alzheimer's disease averaged 9% higher than in the 30 states fluoridated below 80% (avg. 58%). [CDC 2012 & 2013] In the 10 most fluoridated states (avg. 97%), Alzheimer's death rates
The direct costs to American society of caring for those with Alzheimer's in 2018 is estimated to total $277 billion. [Alzheimer's Association 2018] |
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Fluoridated Water and Vascular Diseases In the 20 states whose public drinking water was more than 80% fluoridated, death rates from heart disease (the leading cause of death) in 2013 averaged 2.4% higher than in the 30 states fluoridated below 80%. Death rates averaged 6.5% higher in the 10 most compared to the 10 least fluoridated states. [CDC 2012 & 2013] Stroke death rates averaged 6% higher in the 10 most compared to the 10 least fluoridated states. [CDC 2013] "Americans suffer 1.5 million heart attacks and strokes each year, a burden that contributes to most of the more than $320 billion in annual healthcare costs and lost productivity." [CDC 2015a] |
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Fluoridated Water and Hypertension Fluoride accelerates arterial calcification and stiffening that lead to hypertension. In people with fluorosis, the elastic properties of the ascending aorta are impaired. [Varol et al. 2010; Machoy-Mokrzynska 2004] Hypertension prevalence increased 25% when fluoride levels in drinking water increased from 0.84 to 1.55 mg/l. [Sun et al. 2013] In the 10 most fluoridated states, death rates from hypertension (13th leading cause of death) averaged 13% higher than in the 10 least fluoridated states. [CDC 2012 & 2013] Hypertension costs the US $48.6 billion a year. [CDC 2015] |
Fluoridated Water, Hypothyroidism and Reduced IQ
"The recent decline in iodine intake in the United States could contribute to increased toxicity of fluoride for some individuals." – National Research Council (p. 263)
A 2018 Canadian study found that adults who have iodine deficiencies and higher urinary fluoride levels are at increased risk for underactive thyroid gland activity. [Malin et al.] Another 2018 Canadian study found that urinary fluoride levels were almost two times higher for pregnant women living in fluoridated regions compared with nonfluoridated regions. [Till et al.]
Data from nearly 8,000 medical practices in England showed that hypothyroidism was positively associated with fluoride levels in patients' drinking water. Those in a fluoridated area had twice the hypothyroidism prevalence of a nonfluoridated area. [BMJ 2015]
As of June 2018, 53 studies have found that elevated fluoride exposure is associated with reduced IQ in humans. [Connett & Blank 2018]
"Based on the first-ever 'mother-offspring' studies funded by three U.S. government agencies (National Institutes of Heath, Environmental Protection Agency, and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences) the critical period of exposure to fluoride as far as neurological damage is concerned was during pregnancy. The researchers found that the typical range of adult exposure to fluoride in fluoridated communities could lower the IQ of pregnant women's offspring by up to 6 IQ points (Bashash et al. 2017)." [Connett P 2018]
Our Stolen Future by Theo Colborn (1994)
"If we conservatively assume that only 1 to 5% of children in a fluoridated area suffer any IQ loss, and even if this IQ loss averaged just 1 IQ point, this would still amount to 500,000 to 2,500,000 lost IQ points, with a total loss in lifetime earnings ranging from $11.1 billion to $55.6 billion for this generation alone" in the US. – Petition to US EPA [Connett M 2016]
Fluoridated Water and Kidney Disease
"The kidney is the organ responsible for excreting most of the fluoride. It is exposed to concentrations of fluoride about five times higher than in other organs... Portions of the renal system may therefore be at higher risk of fluoride toxicity than most soft tissues."
"The effect of low doses of fluoride on kidney and liver enzyme functions in humans needs to be carefully documented in communities exposed to different concentrations of fluoride in drinking water." – National Research Council (2006)
In the 20 states whose public drinking water was more than 80% fluoridated, death rates from kidney disease averaged 13% higher than in the 30 states fluoridated below 80%. [CDC 2012 & 2013]
In the 10 most fluoridated states, kidney disease death rates
In 2016, treating Medicare beneficiaries who had
Fluoridated Water and Mental Retardation
As discussed on page 56 of Pregnancy and Fluoride Do Not Mix, the prevalence and severity of developmental defects in children's tooth enamel (dental fluorosis) increase significantly as fluoride levels in drinking water increase.
Developmental defects in primary teeth have been found at least twice as frequently in children with mental retardation. [Bhat & Nelson 1989]
1993: Mental retardation rates for children (aged 6-17) averaged 33% higher in the 26 states fluoridated above the national average (62%) compared to the 24 least fluoridated states. [CDC 1992 & 1993]
"Average lifetime costs per person were estimated at $1,014,000
Two decades later, water fluoridation rates had increased 21% and intellectual disability prevalence increased 73%. ("Intellectual disability" replaced with the term "mental retardation" in 2010.)
2012: Intellectual disability prevalence for students (aged 6-21) averaged 57% higher in the 26 states fluoridated above the national average (75%) compared to the 24 least fluoridated states. [CDC 2012; Iris Center 2012]
In the 10 most fluoridated states, Intellectual disability prevalence averaged 84% higher and than in the 10 least fluoridated states.
The annual cost for neurodevelopmental disorders in the US was up to
Fluoride's ability to disrupt the developing brain is not simply dose dependent.
Fluoridated Water and ADHD
Each one-percent increase in artificial fluoridation prevalence in the US was associated with approximately 67,000 to 131,000 additional ADHD diagnoses (2003 to 2011). [Malin & Till 2015]
A major study (partially funded by the US National Institutes of Health) revealed that higher maternal levels of fluoride during pregnancy are associated with more ADHD-like symptoms in school-age children. [Bashash et al. 2018]
In the 22 states whose public drinking water was more than 80% fluoridated (avg. 91%), rates for youth (aged 4-17) currently diagnosed in 2011 with ADHD averaged 25% higher than in the 28 states fluoridated below 80% (avg. 55%). [CDC 2010 & 2011]
"Overall national annual incremental costs of ADHD ranged from $143 to $266 billion (B) in 2010 dollars. Most of these costs were incurred by adults ($105 B-$194 B) compared with children/adolescents ($38 B-$72 B). For adults, the largest cost category was productivity and income losses ($87 B-$138 B). For children, the largest cost categories were health care ($21 B-$44 B) and education ($15 B-$25 B). Spillover costs borne by the family members of individuals with ADHD were also substantial ($33 B-$43 B)." [Doshi et al. 2012]
Fluoridated Water and Arthritis
"Fluoride is readily incorporated into the crystalline structure of bone, and will accumulate over time... and causes changes in the bone that lead to joint stiffness and pain." – National Academy of Sciences 2006; Connett M 2012]
"The possibility that a sizeable fraction of 'bone and joint pain' or 'arthritis' in US adults is attributable to fluoride exposure has not been addressed, although it is plausible, given what is known about fluoride intakes." – Kathleen M. Thiessen, PhD (2011 Comments to HHS)
Dr. Thiessen was one of the 12 panelists who conducted the National Research Council's 2006 review of "Fluoride in Drinking Water."
In the 21 states whose public drinking water was more than 80% fluoridated (avg. 92%), the rates of "Arthritis-Attributable Work Limitation" in 2003 for adults (aged 45-64) were 17% higher than in the 29 states fluoridated below 80% (avg. 52%). [CDC 2002 & 2003b]
In the 10 most fluoridated states (avg. 96%), those arthritis rates
"In 2003, the costs attributable to arthritis were approximately 1 percent of the gross domestic product of the United States, which is equivalent to a low-grade, chronic recession." [UCSF 2007] In 2018, America's gross domestic product was over $20 trillion. 1% = $200 billion
Fluoridated Water and Cancer
In the 10 most fluoridated states, the death rate for cancer is
The #2 leading cause of death in the US is malignant neoplasms. [CDC 2013] Metastasis, the late stage of cancer spread, involves the migration of malignant neoplasms from one anatomical site to another. In the majority of human cancers, alterations in adhesion forces are implicated in the metastasis process. [Golias et al. 2005]
Fluoride exposure has been shown to cause a dose-dependent decrease in levels of neural cell adhesion molecules in the brain. What's more, the mechanism by which fluoride inhibits bacteria that cause tooth decay is by decreasing adhesion forces. [Loskill et al. 2013]
"Cancers of the oral cavity and pharynx, colon and rectum... were positively associated with 'optimally' fluoridated drinking water." [Takahashi et al. 2001]
See Fluoridated Water
Increases Cancers of the GI Tract
In the 20 states whose public drinking water was more than 80% fluoridated, incidence rates of colorectal cancer averaged 5.1% higher than in the 30 states fluoridated below 80%. Rates were 10.4% higher in the 10 most compared to the 10 least fluoridated states. [American Cancer Society (2019)] *Note: these rates are for white men. Table 1 also includes data for women, blacks, and Hispanics.
In 2010, costs were estimated to be $124.5 billion for cancer care in the US. The second highest cost was for colorectal cancer: $14.1 billion. [Yabroff et al. 2011]
Estimated Annual Costs
$ 33 billion: Hypothyroidism/IQ Loss
Total = $1.45 trillion
Even if ending water fluoridation reduced Life Decay by only 10%:
That's a national savings of $100 billion.
An annual savings of more than $300 for every person in the US.
"The lifetime cost of veneers for a child with moderate or severe
Links to Supporting Information
Fluoridation started in 1945 based on dental survey data that when analyzed in 1981, actually showed that fluoride in water was not associated with less cavities – but was associated with dental fluorosis.
One's susceptibility to fluoride's adverse systemic effects depends on genetic and other factors:
"Severity of dental fluorosis varies individually at the same level of intake." [European Food Safety Authority 2013]
"Subsets of the population may be unusually susceptible to the toxic effects of fluoride and its compounds. These populations include the elderly, people with osteoporosis, people with deficiencies of calcium, magnesium, vitamin C, and/or protein, and people with kidney problems." [US Public Health Service 2003]
See also:
John D. MacArthur • January 2019
October 2019:
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If the average IQ score of 100 were to drop just 5 points, "this society would have lost more than half its high-powered minds" and would result in a greater number of slow learners who would require costly special remedial education. "Given the daunting array of problems we face as nations and as a world community, the last thing we can afford is the loss of human intelligence and problem-solving powers."
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averaged 26% higher than in the 10 least fluoridated states.
kidney disease cost $79 billion. [CDC 2016]
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for persons with mental retardation." [CDC 2003a]
$167 billion per year in 2001. [Environmental Health Perspectives 2006]
It also depends on the "duration of exposure, and most important,
on the timing during the developmental process."
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were 37% higher than in the 10 least fluoridated states (avg. 27%).
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7.6% higher than in the 10 least fluoridated states.
$ 48 billion: Hypertension
$ 79 billion: Kidney Disease
$124 billion: Cancer
$167 billion: Mental Retardation
$200 billion: Arthritis
$204 billion: ADHD
$277 billion: Alzheimer's Disease
$320 billion: Vascular Diseases
Conservatively speaking, the total cost will be
at least $1 trillion this year in the United States.
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And this does not include savings from reducing high costs of:
fluorosis would be at least $4,434." [Ko & Thiessen 2015]
Our Daily Dose: excellent short film by Jeremy Seifert
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State fluoridation rates and 5 leading causes of death
CDC's explanation for the need to swallow fluoride is irrational.
Fluoridation is perpetuated by unscientific endorsements and innumeracy:
the belief that less than 1% difference in healthy teeth equals 25% less tooth decay.
Published in the Townsend Letter: The Examiner of Alternative Medicine