Are fluoride levels in drinking water associated with hypothyroidism prevalence in England? Comments on the authors' response to earlier criticism

Academic debate is healthy and helps us to clarify the evidence base for the interested reader. However, it is unusual for a peer-reviewed paper in a reputable journal to receive quite as much criticism as that which greeted publication of the paper by Peckham et al on fluoride and hypothyroidism.1 Two highly critical commentaries were published at the time.2 3 A subsequent review article4 in the Journal of Evidence-based Dental Practice concluded that "this study is an ecologic one that has several significant flaws, making it almost meaningless with regard to assessing any possible association between water fluoridation and hypothyroidism." Published criticisms included lack of a coherent basis for a prior hypothesis, unbalanced citing of the literature, failure to allow for potential confounding, inadequate recognition of the limitations of ecological studies, imprecise measurement of exposure and outcomes, and over...
Source: Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health - Category: Epidemiology Authors: Tags: Open access Letters to the editor Source Type: research