Fluoride Action Network

Canadian Mother-Offspring IQ Study: MedPage Today – interview with lead author.

Interview with Rivka Green | MedPage Today | September 17, 2019 |
Posted on September 17th, 2019

Video interview with Rivka Green, lead author of the new Canadian IQ study

The safety of water fluoridation has been debated for decades. A recent study published in JAMA Pediatrics added new information to this debate by demonstrating that higher fluoride intake during pregnancy was associated with lower IQ scores in boys. In this exclusive Facebook Live interview, we will discuss this controversial issue with the lead author of the study, Rivka Green, MA, a doctoral student in clinical developmental neuropsychology at York University in Canada.

Posted by MedPage Today on Tuesday, September 17, 2019

An archived video of the September 17, 2019, interview with Rivka Green.

JAMA Pediatrics published the second U.S. Government-funded Mother-Offspring fluoride study on August 19, 2019. Both studies (the first was Bashash et al. 2017) reported that certain levels of fluoride exposure during fetal development can result in cognitive impairment.

Rivka Green was the lead author of the study titled Association Between Maternal Fluoride Exposure During Pregnancy and IQ Scores in Offspring in Canada.

In this interview, hosted live by MedPage, Green explains the study’s findings and responds to questions.

Green and her colleagues followed  512 mother-child pairs from six major Canadian cities. The study was funded by the Canadian government and the U.S. National Institute of Environmental Health Science. The researchers measured fluoride in women’s urine samples during pregnancy. They also calculated fluoride consumption based on how much is in a city’s water supply and how much women recalled drinking. They found that a 1 mg per liter increase in concentration of fluoride in mothers’ urine was associated with a 4.5 point decrease in IQ among boys, though not girls. When the researchers measured fluoride exposure by examining the women’s fluid intake, they found lower IQs in both boys and girls: A 1 mg increase per day was associated with a 3.7-point IQ deficit among both genders.

To see all the Mother-Offspring fluoride studies, click here