HEALTH
EFFECTS: Skeletal Fluorosis
DIRECTORY: FAN
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Bone >
Fluorosis
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Summation
- Skeletal Fluorosis: (Click
for more detail)
 Excessive
exposure to fluoride causes an arthritic
bone disease called skeletal fluorosis. According to UNICEF,
skeletal fluorosis is endemic in at least 25 countries, with millions
of people impacted.
Skeletal fluorosis, especially in its early
stages, is a difficult disease
to diagnose, and can be readily confused with various forms
of arthritis including osteoarthritis
and rheumatoid arthritis.
In the advanced stages, fluorosis can resemble a multitude
of bone/joint diseases, including: osteosclerosis,
renal osteodystrophy,
DISH, spondylosis,
osteomalacia,
osteoporosis, and secondary
hyperparathyroidism.
The risk of developing fluorosis, and the course the disease
will take, is influenced by the presence of ceratin predisposing
factors, including impaired
kidney function; dietary
deficiencies; gastric
acidity; and
repetitive stress.
In individuals with kidney
disease, fluoride exposure can contribute to, and/or exacerbate,
renal osteodystrophy.
While only a limited number of studies have documented the disease
in the U.S., it is almost certain that cases
of the disease have occurred but escaped detection.
'The Dose Factor'
- Skeletal Fluorosis: (Click
for more detail)
The minimum daily
doses capable of producing the various stages of fluorosis
are still poorly understood.
In India and China,
skeletal fluorosis has repeatedly been documented in field
surveys among communities with 1.0 to 1.5 ppm fluoride in
water. In the U.S., there has been extremely little systematic
research to assess the prevalence of fluorosis. Case
reports, however, have documented fluorosis among susceptible
individuals drinking water with as little as 1.7 ppm.
Research Gaps - Skeletal
Fluorosis:
1) No systematic research exploring the incidence
of skeletal fluorosis among susceptible subsets of the population
including heavy tea-drinkers
and people with kidney disease.
2) Other than small, limited studies from the
1950s-1960s (Steinberg 1955, 1958; Ansell 1965), no research exploring
the relationship between fluoride exposure and arthritis
in the west.
3) No comprehensive research exploring the doses
of fluoride capable of producing the early
stages of skeletal fluorosis, and how such doses vary based
on the presence or absence of predisposing
factors.
4) No research exploring how genetics
may influence the risk and nature of skeletal fluorosis in the
general population.
CONTENTS of DATABASE
- Skeletal
Fluorosis:
Data Compilation:
Full-text, or Excerpted Papers, of Papers:
Johnson W, et al.
(1979). Fluoridation and bone disease in renal patients. In:
E Johansen, DR Taves, TO Olsen, Eds. Continuing Evaluation
of the Use of Fluorides. AAAS Selected Symposium. Westview
Press, Boulder, Colorado. pp. 275-293.
Cook HA.
(1971). Fluoride studies in a patient with arthritis. The
Lancet 1: 817.
Teotia
SPS, et al. (1976). Symposium on the non-skeletal phase of chronic
fluorosis: The joints. Fluoride 9: 19-24.
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