RFK Jr.’s Views on Fluoride Aren’t as Crazy as You Might Think
In the days before the election, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is expected to play a key role overseeing federal health agencies in the second Trump administration, alarmed many health officials by calling for the removal of fluoride from public drinking water. This would overturn decades of public health doctrine and is already incurring the wrath of some influential clinicians.
Here’s the thing: It’s not an entirely crazy idea.
Over the years, research has shown that fluoride is not harmless. Higher levels can lead to problems such as tooth discoloration, bone deformities and thyroid diseases. In recognition of these risks, as well as the fact that most people are now getting fluoride through toothpaste, the Public Health Service lowered the recommended fluoride concentration in drinking water in 2015.
In 2019, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urged parents to supervise young children’s use of toothpaste to guard against excessive fluoride ingestion. Multiple studies also show that neonatal fluoride exposure might interfere with brain development.
Air Pollution May Increase Risk of a Child Developing Autism
Researchers have discovered air pollution could increase a child’s risk of developing autism spectrum disorder. Specifically, a new study reveals a pregnant woman’s exposure to common air pollutants could have a drastic effect on her fetus’ brain during critical development periods.
“Different kinds of neurological disorders, including autism spectrum disorder, can be associated with [pollutants],” explained Professor Haitham Amal, senior author of the study. “The timing of exposure appears crucial, with heightened vulnerability during prenatal development.”
The research, published in Brain Medicine, suggests ultra-small pollutants known as ‘fine particulate matter’ and nitrogen oxides impact a young brain the most. While some of these pollutants are naturally occurring in the atmosphere, they also come from transport and fossil fuels.
Premature Births in the U.S. Remain at an All-Time High, the March of Dimes Reports
Many pregnant women in the U.S., particularly in the South, face inadequate prenatal care, complicated by abortion restrictions, air pollution and extreme heat, according to a new March of Dimes report. As a result, there have been no improvements in the preterm birth rate in the last 10 years.
In its annual report, released Thursday, the March of Dimes gave the U.S. a dismal D+ grade based on the number of babies born too soon last year. Last year, the preterm birth rate was 10.4%. In 2022, it was 10.5%.
In fact, little has changed in the past decade. In 2013, the preterm birth rate was 9.8%.
“It’s really frustrating,” said Dr. Sarahn Wheeler, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina. “I take care of patients who are the real human stories behind the numbers.” Wheeler was not involved with the March of Dimes report.
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Will Bird Flu Be the Next Pandemic and Could It Cause a Lockdown? What Experts Say
H5 bird flu, a type of avian influenza, has been causing concern for months after infecting dozens of people in the U.S. this year. Now a new human case in Canada — that country’s first — is deepening the worry, especially over whether the virus could lead to another pandemic or lockdown.
A teenager is in critical condition and being treated for acute respiratory distress at a children’s hospital in British Columbia after testing positive for bird flu, the CBC reported.
The patient — whose gender, age and identity have not been released — “was a healthy teenager prior to this” with no underlying conditions, the province’s health officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry, said in a news conference. The teen had not been exposed to birds or other farm animals, but had been around dogs, cats and reptiles, she added. The source of infection is under investigation.
Black Infant Mortality Rate More Than Double the Rate Among White Infants: CDC
Infant mortality rates remained relatively unchanged from 2022 to 2023, but racial and ethnic disparities still persist, new provisional federal data released early Thursday finds.
The U.S. provisional infant mortality rate in 2023 was 5.61 infant deaths per 1,000 live births, unchanged from the 2022 rate, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics.
The report also found that infants born to Black mothers still died at much higher rates than those born to white and Asian mothers — more than double the rate of white infant mortality, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Air Pollution Tied to Preterm Birth Risk
Exposure to air pollution was associated with an increased risk of spontaneous preterm birth, according to a population-based cohort study of more than 400,000 births at one major California health system.
Spontaneous preterm birth positively correlated with exposure to particulate matter 2.5 μm or less in diameter (PM2.5) (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] per IQR increase 1.15, 95% CI 1.12-1.18), as estimated by maternal residential histories, reported Jun Wu, PhD, of the University of California Irvine, and colleagues. The IQR was 2.76 μg/m3.
The excess risk of spontaneous preterm birth was arguably higher during the second trimester (aOR for total PM2.5 concentration 1.10, 95% CI 1.08-1.12) compared with the first (aOR 1.07, 95% CI 1.05-1.09) and third trimesters (aOR 1.09, 95% CI 1.07-1.11), they wrote in JAMA Network Open.
