Does consumption of fluoridated drinking water increase the risk of developing CKD?
People with access to optimally fluoridated drinking water (1.5 ppm/1.5 mg/l), drinking 1.0 l of water a day will consume 1.5 mg of fluoride a day (<0.021 mg/kg for the average 70 kg person). Few studies have examined the effects of this level of fluoride consumption on kidney function. In a study by Schlesinger et al. [15], a 10-year follow-up revealed no difference in urinary albumin excretion between children exposed to optimally fluoridated drinking water (1.2 ppm) and children in a non-fluoridated area. Similarly, a recent investigation demonstrated no difference in protein or albumin levels in children exposed to varying levels of fluoride in drinking water (range from 0.61 ppm to 5.69 ppm) [16]. However, analysis of markers of tubular epithelial cell damage revealed that consuming water with over 2 ppm of fluoride may cause impairment to kidney function in children, and the degree of damage is increased as the water fluoride concentration increases [16]. Two other community-base
