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. 2021 Jun 8;18(12):6203.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph18126203.

Urinary Fluoride Levels among Canadians with and without Community Water Fluoridation

Julia K Riddell  1 , Ashley J Malin  2 , Hugh McCague  3 , David B Flora  3   4 , Christine Till  4
Affiliations

Urinary Fluoride Levels among Canadians with and without Community Water Fluoridation

Julia K Riddell et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Drinking water is a major source of dietary fluoride intake in communities with water fluoridation. We examined the association between urinary fluoride adjusted for specific gravity (UFSG) and tap water fluoride levels, by age and sex, among individuals living in Canada. Participants included 1629 individuals aged 3 to 79 years from Cycle 3 (2012-2013) of the Canadian Health Measures Survey. We used multiple linear regression to estimate unique associations of tap water fluoride levels, age, sex, ethnicity, body mass index (BMI), use of fluoride-containing dental products, smoking in the home, and tea consumption with UFSG. UFSG concentration was significantly higher among participants who received fluoridated drinking water (mean = 1.06 mg/L, standard deviation = 0.83) than among those who did not (M = 0.58 mg/L, SD = 0.47), p < 0.01. UFSG increased over adulthood (ages 19 to 79). Higher UFSG concentration was associated with being female, tea drinking, and smoking in the home. In conclusion, community water fluoridation is a major source of contemporary fluoride exposure for Canadians. Lifestyle factors including tea consumption, as well as demographic variables such as age and sex, also predict urinary fluoride level, and are therefore important factors when interpreting population-based fluoride biomonitoring data.

Keywords: Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS); community water fluoridation; fluoride excretion; urinary fluoride.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow chart of eligible participants in the study. Note: CHMS, Canadian Health Measures Survey; BMI, body mass index. * Signifies that the number has been rounded due to Statistics Canada vetting requirements.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Mean levels of UFSG by age group and CWF status. Error bars represent the standard error of the mean.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Mean UFSG levels by age group and sex. Error bars represent the standard error of the mean. * Depicts significant difference between males and females (p < 0.05).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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