Report on the intellectual ability of children living in high-fluoride water areas

• Published in: Fluoride Vol. 41; no. 2; pp. 144 - 147
• Main Authors: Liu, S, Lu, Y, Sun, Z, Wu, L, Lu, W, Wang, X, Yan, S
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01.06.2008
• Subjects: China, People's Rep., Tianjin
• ISSN: 0015-4725

Sixty children, aged 10 to 12, were randomly selected for IQ testing from an area with high fluoride (3.15 mg F/L) in the drinking water along with 58 control children of the same age from a nearby low fluoride (0.37 mg F/L) area. The two areas are located approximately 5 km apart in the Tianjin Xiqing District, and both have similar normal iodine levels, living standards, access to medical facilities, economic development, educational level, etc. A single Individual using the C2 version of the Chinese Raven Test did the IQ testing. The mean IQ scores were significantly different: 92.27 plus or minus 20.45 in the high F area and 103.05 plus or minus 13.86 in the low F area (P<0.01). Within the seven categories of the scores, there were significantly more borderline and low IQs in the high F area (13/60) than in the low F area (2/58) (p<0.01).