氟化物如何影響兒童發(fā)育？

氟化物如何影響兒童發(fā)育？

Water fluoridation has been hailed by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as one of the top great public health achievements of the 20th century, but a new study raises questions about its role as a potential neurotoxin in utero.

水氟化一直被美國疾病控制和預(yù)防中心譽為20世紀(jì)最偉大的公共衛(wèi)生成就之一，但一項新的研究對其作為子宮內(nèi)潛在神經(jīng)毒素的作用提出了質(zhì)疑。

The study, published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics on Monday, found that increased levels of fluoride exposure during pregnancy were associated with declines in IQ in children. Previous research has made similar findings.

周一發(fā)表在《美國醫(yī)學(xué)會兒科學(xué)》雜志上的這項研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，懷孕期間增加對氟化物的接觸與兒童智商下降有關(guān)。此前的研究也有類似的發(fā)現(xiàn)。

The authors of the new study assessed 601 Canadian mother and child pairs, tracking the fluoride exposure of 512 of the mothers by looking at the average concentration of fluoride in urine samples taken throughout their pregnancies . The authors also estimated the mothers' daily fluoride intake by surveying their beverage intake, including tap water.

這項新研究的作者評估了601對加拿大母子，追蹤了512位母親的氟化物暴露情況，方法是觀察她們整個孕期尿液中氟化物的平均濃度，以此作為產(chǎn)前氟化物暴露的指標(biāo)。研究人員還通過調(diào)查母親們的飲料攝入量(包括自來水)來估算她們每天的氟化物攝入量。

Between the ages of 3 and 4, all children born from the studied mothers were tested for IQ.

在3到4歲之間，所有被研究母親的孩子都接受了智商測試。

The authors found that for each additional 1 milligram per liter in concentration of fluoride in a mother's urine, there was a 4.5-point drop in IQ in males.

研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn)，母親尿液中氟化物濃度每增加1毫克/升，男性的智商就會下降4.5個百分點。

The researchers say that further investigation into whether boys are more vulnerable to fluoride neurotoxicity is needed, especially considering that boys have a higher prevalence of neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism and attention-deficit disorder.

研究人員說，需要進(jìn)一步調(diào)查男孩是否更容易受到氟化物神經(jīng)毒性的影響，尤其是考慮到男孩更容易患自閉癥和注意力缺陷障礙等神經(jīng)發(fā)育障礙。

The researchers also measured the fluoride intake in 400 of the mothers against their children's IQ scores. They say this measure might reflect postnatal exposure to fluoride because a child is probably ingesting the same type of water as the mother did during pregnancy.

研究人員還將400名母親的氟化物攝入量與孩子的智商進(jìn)行了比較。他們說，這一測量結(jié)果可能反映了嬰兒出生后接觸氟化物的情況，因為孩子可能與母親在懷孕期間攝入的水類型相同。

The authors believe that urine concentration better reflects prenatal exposure. They found that for every 1 mg/L average increase in fluoride intake by a mother, there was a 3.7-point drop in the child's IQ, regardless of gender.

作者認(rèn)為，尿液濃度能更好地反映出產(chǎn)前接觸的情況。他們發(fā)現(xiàn)，母親每增加1毫克/升的氟化物攝入量，不論性別，孩子的智商都會下降3.7個百分點。

"At a population level, that's a big shift. That translates to millions of IQ levels lost," said study author Christine Till, an associate professor in the Department of Psychology at York University in Toronto.

“從人口水平來看，這是一個巨大的轉(zhuǎn)變。研究報告的撰寫者、多倫多約克大學(xué)心理學(xué)系的副教授克里斯汀蒂爾說:“這意味著數(shù)百萬人的智商水平會下降。”

Fluoridation remains a contentious issue

氟化仍然是一個有爭議的問題

Critics pointed to the difference between boys and girls as an issue in the study.

批評人士指出，男孩和女孩之間的差異是研究中的一個問題。

"The gender difference in the results make it difficult to interpret. At this point, the gender difference is problematic," said Dr. Aparna Bole, chairwoman of American Academy of Pediatrics Council on Environmental Health. Bole said that this research alone won't change any of the organization's recommendations to use fluoride to prevent cavities, but "I think the study was well done and that the commentary was thoughtful."

“研究結(jié)果中的性別差異使其難以解釋。在這一點上，性別差異是有問題的。美國兒科學(xué)會環(huán)境健康委員會主席Aparna Bole說。Bole說，這項研究本身不會改變該組織使用氟化物預(yù)防蛀牙的任何建議，但“我認(rèn)為這項研究做得很好，評論也很周到。”