Does fluoride cause cancer, loss of IQ and more? Fact-checking Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s statement

The new administration of President-elect Donald Trump may try to remove fluoride from drinking water, according to Robert Kennedy Jr.

Kennedy, who campaigned alongside Trump after abandoning his own presidential bid in August, called fluoride an “industrial waste” and linked it to cancer and other diseases and disorders.

“On January 20, the Trump White House will recommend that all U.S. water systems remove fluoride from public water. Fluoride is an industrial waste linked to arthritis, broken bones, bone cancer, loss of IQ, neurodevelopmental disorders and thyroid disease.” Kennedy wrote on November 2 at X. Kennedy provided a link to a video of a lawyer who recently successfully sued The Environmental Protection Agency will take additional steps to regulate fluoride in drinking water.

Kennedy, who has long advocated stopping water fluoridation, persisted with his promise after Trump’s election victory. Meanwhile, Trump said Kennedy, who previously worked as an environmental lawyer, would play a role in the Trump administration. When asked whether his administration would remove fluoride from drinking water, Trump said“Well, I haven’t talked to him about it yet, but I think it’s normal. You know it’s possible.”

Kennedy is an influential vaccine skeptic whose campaign of conspiracy theories has earned Lies of 2023 according to PolitiFact.

Years of research have shown that adding fluoride to drinking water in the United States is a safe way to improve children’s oral health. Since 2015, the recommended level in the United States has been 0.7 milligrams per liter. Public health organizations, including American Dental Association, American Academy of Pediatrics And US Centers for Disease Control and Preventionsupport the practice.

However, recent studies have shown a possible link between fluoride, bone problems and children’s IQ, especially when fluoride levels exceed US recommended levels.

“There is evidence that fluoride exposure is associated with the diseases (and) disorders listed by the RFK, but with caveats,” said Dr. Ashley Malin, assistant professor of epidemiology at the University of Florida, who studied The effect of fluoride on pregnant women.

Malin cited studies showing that higher fluoride exposure, especially during pregnancy, is associated with lower child IQ, and prenatal exposure is also associated with lower intellectual functioning and executive function. With high exposure during pregnancy, studies have found symptoms associated with other neurobehavioral problems such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

However, many of these studies were conducted in countries other than the United States and examined fluoride levels in drinking water that were sometimes twice the US recommended level. Additionally, some of the other diseases Kennedy listed, such as the link to bone cancer, have less compelling evidence and require further study.

“Beyond the effects of fluoride on neurodevelopment, I think we don’t know much more about the health effects of low-level fluoride exposure than what we know, especially the health effects in adults,” Malin said.

David Bellinger, professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School and professor of environmental health at the Harvard School of Public Health, said the risk-benefit calculation of added fluoride varies depending on whether typical levels of fluoride exposure cause health problems or whether problems arise only at recommended levels. levels. exceeded.

“In toxicology, ‘the dose is the poison’ is a long-standing principle,” he said. “So a general statement that fluoride is associated with diseases X, Y and Z is not very useful unless the dose that may be the cause is specified.”

PolitiFact reached out to Kennedy through his children’s health advocacy organization but did not hear back. The organization sued PolitiFact and Meta over fact-checking in 2020. This lawsuit was rejected by federal court. The dismissal was upheld on appeal, and the case is awaiting a possible appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

What is fluoride and what are its benefits?

fluoride is a mineral found naturally in soil, water and some foods that helps prevent tooth decay and tooth decay. It strengthens tooth enamel, which can be destroyed by acid bacteria, plaque and sugar.

Water fluoridation has been occurring in the United States since 1945.

The Federal Public Health Service first recommended fluoridation of tap water in 1962, but the decision remains up to states and localities. About 73% of the US population or about 209 million people, have access to fluoridated water, the CDC reports. Fluoride is also added to oral care products such as toothpaste and mouthwash.

In 2015, US health officials reduced the recommended amount fluoride in drinking water to 0.7 milligrams per liter, saying that higher levels are less necessary given other sources of fluoride, and that lower amounts will still help protect teeth without coloring them.

Pediatric dentists note that using fluoride in toothpastes and mouthwashes is beneficial, but small amounts of fluoride circulating through the body through water intake may help young children who still have baby teeth, as it may benefit developing permanent teeth.

American Dental Association says that studies have shown that fluoride in public water supplies prevents at least 25% of tooth decay in children and adults and that “for more than 75 years, the best scientific evidence has consistently shown that fluoridation is safe and effective.”

Association says on your website“This is similar to fortifying other foods and drinks—for example, fortifying salt with iodine, milk with vitamin D, orange juice with calcium, and bread with folic acid.”

According to the CDCHealth experts and scientists from the United States and other countries have so far “found no convincing scientific evidence linking community water fluoridation to any potential adverse health effects or systemic disorders, such as an increased risk of cancer, Down syndrome, heart, osteoporosis and bone diseases.” fracture, immune disorders, low intelligence, kidney disease, Alzheimer’s disease or allergic reactions.”

Agency says risks of water fluoridation are limited dental fluorosiswhich can alter tooth enamel and cause white spots, lines, or brown spots to appear on teeth when consuming too much fluoride.

Does research show that fluoride poses any other risks?

Some studies have shown that excess exposure to fluoride, often above the US recommended limit, can harm the developing brains of infants and young children and that higher levels of fluoride exposure during pregnancy have been associated with decreased IQ in children.

A study published in May Malin, along with researchers from the University of Southern California, suggested that exposure to fluoride during pregnancy is associated with an increased risk of neurobehavioral problems in children and said “Additional research is urgently needed to understand and mitigate the effects across the entire U.S. population.”

Experts noted that prenatal fluoride exposure is most strongly associated with IQ loss in children and noted that the timing of fluoride intake may need to be considered when making recommendations.

A federal review Dozens of studies published in August by the Department of Health and Human Services’ National Toxicology Program concluded that higher levels of fluoride exposure are associated with lower IQs in children. But the report was based primarily on studies conducted in countries such as Canada, China, India, Iran, Mexico and Pakistan, and suggested fluoride levels of 1.5 milligrams per liter or higher, twice the recommended limit in the USA. The authors said more research is needed to understand whether lower exposure has any adverse effects.

In the report, the researchers said they found no evidence that fluoride exposure negatively affects cognitive function in adults.

Harvard’s Bellinger pointed to this review as an example of how important the amount of fluoride is. He noted that researchers have concluded that a very small percentage of people in the US are exposed at levels that correlate with IQ loss.

“Secondly, the fact that there are now multiple routes of exposure to fluoride other than fluoridated water (toothpaste and other dental products, etc.) makes it really difficult to attribute a specific harmful effect to fluoride added to water,” he wrote via email. “It is the cumulative exposure from all sources that contributes to any adverse health effects.”

In September, a federal judge ordered The Environmental Protection Agency needs to continue to regulate fluoride in drinking water because of the potential risk that higher levels could affect children’s intellectual development.

U.S. District Judge Edward Chen wrote that the court’s decision does not “show with certainty that fluoridated water is harmful to public health,” saying it is unclear whether the amount of fluoride typically added to water leads to lower IQs in children. But he wrote that there was enough risk to warrant an investigation and that the Environmental Protection Agency should take steps to further regulate it. The ruling does not specify what action the agency must take, and the Environmental Protection Agency is reviewing the decision.

Following this decision, the American Pediatric Association issued statement that fluoride in drinking water is safe for children and said the policy is based on sound evidence.

In addition to dental fluorosis, experts say that exposure to fluoride over many years in excess of the US recommended amount can cause skeletal fluorosis, a rare disease that causes weak bones, stiffness and pain in the joints. Although the Public Health Service recommends a fluoride concentration of 0.7 milligrams per liter for public water supplies, the Environmental Protection Agency sets mandatory drinking water quality standards under the Safe Drinking Water Act. To prevent skeletal fluorosis, the Environmental Protection Agency currently requires water supplies to contain no more than 4 milligrams of fluoride per liter of water.

Malin said she and her research team are investigating the potential link between fluoride and bone fractures. She said that while several studies have shown that high fluoride exposure is associated with an increased risk of bone fractures, and some have linked fluoride to thyroid disease, there have been no rigorous studies in the United States.

Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) concluded that recent studies have found no link between cancer and high levels of fluoride in drinking water.

American Cancer Society looked at a possible link between water fluoridation and cancer. A spokesperson for the organization pointed to PolitiFact’s review and said it didn’t have the data to give a definitive answer.