Evidence map›Paper›PMID 28937959›Full record

ArticleEnvironmental health perspectives2017

Prenatal Fluoride Exposure and Cognitive Outcomes in Children at 4 and 6-12 Years of Age in Mexico.

Morteza Bashash, Deena Thomas, Howard Hu, E Angeles Martinez-Mier, Brisa N Sanchez, Niladri Basu, Karen E Peterson, Adrienne S Ettinger, Robert Wright, Zhenzhen Zhang and 5 more

Open access · diamondAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Environmental health perspectives, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 101 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
101citing papers in PubMed, 4 pooled it
15.2field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

101 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 231 citations in OpenAlex.

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  13. Fluoride exposure and metabolic alterations: a scoping review of metabolomic studies.Metabolomics : Official journal of the Metabolomic Society · 2025
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41 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

15 authors at 8 institutions in 3 countries.

Morteza BashashDalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto , Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Deena ThomasUniversity of Michigan School of Public Health , Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
Howard HuDalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto , Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
E Angeles Martinez-MierIndiana University School of Dentistry, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis , Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.
Brisa N SanchezUniversity of Michigan School of Public Health , Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
Niladri BasuFaculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, McGill University , Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Karen E PetersonUniversity of Michigan School of Public Health , Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
Adrienne S EttingerUniversity of Michigan School of Public Health , Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
Robert WrightIcahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai , New York, New York, USA.
Zhenzhen ZhangUniversity of Michigan School of Public Health , Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
Yun LiuUniversity of Michigan School of Public Health , Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
Lourdes SchnaasInstituto Nacional de Perinatología , Mexico City, Mexico.
Adriana Mercado-GarcíaInstituto Nacional de Salud Pública , Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico.
Martha María Téllez-RojoInstituto Nacional de Salud Pública , Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico.
Mauricio Hernández-AvilaInstituto Nacional de Salud Pública , Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico.
University of Michigan · USInstituto Nacional de Salud Pública · MXUniversity of Toronto · CAHarvard University · USIcahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai · USIndiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis · USInstituto Nacional de Perinatología · MXMcGill University · CA

Funding

Strategic Vision & Impact on Environmental HealthP30ES017885 · NIEHS · UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR · PI Dana Dolinoy · 2011 to 2026
$21.3M
VANADIUM AND HUMAN HEALTHP42ES005947 · NIEHS · HARVARD UNIVERSITY (SCH OF PUBLIC HLTH) · PI KELSEY, KARL TIMOTHY · 1992 to 2006
$19.6M
LEAD DOSE BIOMARKERS, REPRODUCTION, AND INFANT OUTCOMESR01ES007821 · NIEHS · UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR · PI PETERSON, KAREN EILEEN · 1998 to 2010
$4.7M
Project 3: Developmental Exposures and Diet: Epigenetics of Metabolic SyndromeP01ES022844 · NIEHS · UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR · PI PADMANABHAN, VASANTHA, PETERSON, KAREN EILEEN · 2013 to 2018
$3.9M
Prenatal and Childhood Exposure to Fluoride and NeurodevelopmentR01ES021446 · NIEHS · UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO · PI HU, HOWARD, MCLAUGHLIN, JOHN · 2012 to 2018
$2.3M
NIEHS NIH HHS P01 ES022844NIEHS NIH HHS P30 ES017885NIEHS NIH HHS P42 ES005947NIEHS NIH HHS R01 ES007821NIEHS NIH HHS R01 ES021446
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundSome evidence suggests that fluoride may be neurotoxic to children. Few of the epidemiologic studies have been longitudinal, had individual measures of fluoride exposure, addressed the impact of prenatal exposures or involved more than 100 participants.

objectiveOur aim was to estimate the association of prenatal exposure to fluoride with offspring neurocognitive development.

methodsWe studied participants from the Early Life Exposures in Mexico to Environmental Toxicants (ELEMENT) project. An ion-selective electrode technique was used to measure fluoride in archived urine samples taken from mothers during pregnancy and from their children when 6-12 y old, adjusted for urinary creatinine and specific gravity, respectively. Child intelligence was measured by the General Cognitive Index (GCI) of the McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities at age 4 and full scale intelligence quotient (IQ) from the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence (WASI) at age 6-12.

resultsWe had complete data on 299 mother-child pairs, of whom 287 and 211 had data for the GCI and IQ analyses, respectively. Mean (SD) values for urinary fluoride in all of the mothers (n=299) and children with available urine samples (n=211) were 0.90 (0.35) mg/L and 0.82 (0.38) mg/L, respectively. In multivariate models we found that an increase in maternal urine fluoride of 0.5mg/L (approximately the IQR) predicted 3.15 (95% CI: -5.42, -0.87) and 2.50 (95% CI -4.12, -0.59) lower offspring GCI and IQ scores, respectively.

conclusionsIn this study, higher prenatal fluoride exposure, in the general range of exposures reported for other general population samples of pregnant women and nonpregnant adults, was associated with lower scores on tests of cognitive function in the offspring at age 4 and 6-12 y. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP655.

Indexed as

IntelligenceAdultChildChild DevelopmentChild, PreschoolCognitionEnvironmental PollutantsFemaleFluoridesHumansIntelligence TestsMaleMaternal ExposureMexicoPregnancyPrenatal Exposure Delayed EffectsEnvironmental PollutantsFluorides

Identifiers

PMID28937959
PMCPMC5915186
OpenAlexW2756943429

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.