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Prenatal and Childhood Exposure to Fluoride and Cognitive Development: Findings from the Longitudinal MINIMat Cohort in Rural Bangladesh

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: BACKGROUND: There are indications that fluoride exposure considered to be beneficial for dental health may not be safe from a neurodevelopmental perspective. OBJECTIVE: We assessed the impact of prenatal and childhood fluoride exposure on cognitive abilities at 5 and 10 years of age. METHODS: -transformed) with cognitive abilities (raw scores) were assessed with multivariable-adjusted linear or spline regression models. Water fluoride concentrations at the time of the follow-up of the children at 10 years of age were also measured. RESULTS: )]. The association at 5 years of age was also negative but nonsignificant. For both prenatal and childhood exposure, associations were most noticeable with perceptual reasoning, but also verbal scores. The estimate for the association between urinary fluoride at 10 years of age and perceptual reasoning became 18% lower after adjustment for prenatal exposure. Inconsistent sex-specific differences were observed. CONCLUSION: ) were associated with lower cognitive abilities, especially perceptual reasoning and verbal abilities, in Bangladeshi children. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP14534.

Source: Environmental Health Perspectives

DOI: 10.1289/ehp14534