Fluoride exposure and pubertal development in children living in Mexico City

Environmental Health

Brisa N. Sánchez¹  E. Angeles Martinez-Mier²  Yun Liu³  Karen E. Peterson³  Niladri Basu⁴  Martha Téllez-Rojo⁵  Maritsa Solano-González⁵  Adriana Mercado-García⁵  Howard Hu⁶ 

[1] Department of Biostatistics, University of Michigan School of Public Health;Department of Cariology, Operative Dentistry and Dental Public Health, Indiana University School of Dentistry;Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Michigan School of Public Health;Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, McGill University;Nutrition and Health Research, National Institute of Public Health;Occupational and Environmental Health, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto;

关键词: Fluoride;    Puberty;    Pubic hair;    Genitalia;    Menarche;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12940-019-0465-7

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Abstract Background Previous animal and ecological studies have provided evidence for an earlier sexual maturation in females in relation to fluoride exposure; however, no epidemiological studies have examined the association between fluoride exposure and pubertal development in both boys and girls using individual-level biomarkers of fluoride. Capitalizing on an ongoing Mexican birth cohort study, we examined the association between concurrent urinary fluoride levels and physical markers of pubertal development in children. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study of 157 boys and 176 girls at age 10–17 years living in Mexico City. We used ion-selective electrode-based diffusion methods to assess fluoride levels in urine, adjusting for urinary specific gravity. Pubertal stages were evaluated by a trained physician. Associations of fluoride with pubertal stages and age at menarche were studied using ordinal regression and Cox proportional-hazard regression, respectively. Results In the entire sample, the geometric mean and interquartile range (IQR) of urinary fluoride (specific gravity adjusted) were 0.59 mg/L and 0.31 mg/L, respectively. In boys, our analysis showed that a one-IQR increase in urinary fluoride was associated with later pubic hair growth (OR = 0.71, 95% CI: 0.51–0.98, p = 0.03) and genital development (OR = 0.71, 95% CI: 0.53–0.95, p = 0.02). No significant associations were found in girls, although the direction was negative. Conclusions Childhood fluoride exposure, at the levels observed in our study, was associated with later pubertal development among Mexican boys at age 10–17 years. Further research is needed to confirm these findings.

【 授权许可】

Unknown