Is there any association between fluoride exposure and thyroid function modulation? A systematic review

by Maria Karolina Martins Ferreira, Priscila Cunha Nascimento, Leonardo Oliveira Bittencourt, Giza Hellen Nonato Miranda, Nathalia Carolina Fernandes Fagundes, Fatemeh Vida Zahoori, E. Angeles Martinez-Mier, Mar ília Afonso Rabelo Buzalaf, Rafael Rodrigues Lima Numerous pre-clinical and observational studies have explored the potential effects of fluoride (F) at varying concentrations on diverse systems and organs. While some have assessed the endocrinological conditions of children and adults, a consensus regarding the interaction between F and the thyr oid remains elusive. This systematic review aimed to gather primary evidence on the association between F and changes in the thyroid at optimal and high levels in water supply as stipulated by the World Health Organization. A search strategy, incorporating terms pertinent to the studies, was employe d across PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Lilacs, and Google Scholar. Following the review of studies, data were extracted and analyzed using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluations to assess the quality of the evidence. Our results yielded 3,568 studies, of which sev en met the inclusion criteria for this review. Five of the seven studies identified an association between high F exposure and thyroid function. In the analysis of methodological quality, every study was found to have major or minor methodological issues and significant risk of bias. The overall con fidence in the evidence was deemed...
Source: PLoS One - Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Source Type: research