Fluoride and ASD

   In 2000 Powell et all reported that in the fluoridated West Midlands (UK) rates for classical childhood autism had increased by 18% per year, while a much larger increase of 55% per year was seen for overall Autism Spectrum Disorders (Powell et al, 2000).

   Ever so co-inicidentally, there is also a prevalence of high congenital hypothyroidism (CHT) in the West Midlands. The overall incidence of CHT among 1128 632 neonates screened over 16 years in the West Midlands was 1:2924 live births (Hall et al, 1999), much higher than the 1 in 4000 W.H.O. average.

   In the U.S., the long-fluoridated areas of Dade and Broward counties show a 332% and 1,196% increase, respectively, between 1989 and 1999.

   According to the 1998 Maryland Special Education Census Data, Maryland experienced a 513% increase in autism from 1993-1998. The 513% increase in cases of autism did NOT include children age birth through three.

   Over a two-year period, 1996-98, Maryland experienced a 60% increase alone.

   In fluoridated Baltimore City the figure had increased from 85 to 323 between 1993 and 1998, and in Baltimore from 54 to 306.

   In Western Australia, the rate of autism spectrum disorders more than doubled within 10 years, and rose from three to six per 10 000 in the 1980-83 birth cohort to 10-13 per 10 000 for the 1989-92 cohort (Bouwer et al, 2000).

References:

Bower C, Leonard H, Petterson B - “Intellectual disability in Western Australia” J Paediatr Child Health 36(3):213-5 (2000) MEDLINE

Hall SK, Hutchesson AC, Kirk JM - "Congenital hypothyroidism, seasonality and consanguinity in the West Midlands, England" Acta Paediatr 88(2):212-5(1999) MEDLINE

Powell JE, Edwards A, Edwards M, Pandit BS, Sungum-Paliwal SR, Whitehouse W - "Changes in the incidence of childhood autism and other autistic spectrum disorders in preschool children from two areas of the West Midlands, UK" Dev Med Child Neurol 42(9):624-8(2000) MEDLINE