§ Earl Baldwin of Bewdleyasked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Warner on 28 June (WA 6), and in light of the finding of the systematic review of water fluoridation in 2000 by the National Health Service Centre for Reviews and Dissemination at the University of York that few safety studies of even moderate quality could be found (Level B, Appendix D), on what basis "further reassurance of the safety of fluoridated water" can be provided by a study which did not address itself to safety; and [HL3799]
Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Warner on 28 June (WA 6), what are the population studies on which they base the statement that "No 138WA health effects, other than enhanced resistance to tooth decay, have been detected in residents in this naturally fluoridated area"; and [HL3800]
Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Warner on 28 June (WA 6), how they reconcile the finding of the School of Dental Sciences of the University of Newcastle with their statement that "no evidence" has been found for any differences between the absorption of artificially and naturally fluoridated water; and [HL3801]
Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Warner on 28 June (WA 6), whether, in claiming "no evidence of any differences" in the bioavailability study on fluoride recently conducted at the Newcastle School of Dental Studies, they have taken note of the authors' warning in section 6 of their report that "some caution is necessary when interpreting the results" because of "the small number of subjects", and of their comments in section 7 on the benefits of further research on this topic. [H L3802]
§ Lord WarnerThe report by the School of Dental Sciences at Newcastle University concludes that "There was no statistically significant difference [in absorption of fluoride] between artificially and naturally fluoridated water, or between soft and hard water". For the subjects in the study, there were small differences in indices of bioavailability between the trials of the various types of water, but the results were compatible with the conclusion that the source of fluoride and the hardness of the water had no important influence on the bioavailability of fluoride. This conclusion agrees with the findings of the earlier study quoted in the report,Chemistry and bioavailability aspects off. in drinking water, which concluded "In terms of chemistry and bioavailability there is absolutely no difference between added and natural fluoride". Much of the evidence bearing on the safety of fluoridation of drinking water consists of epidemiological studies in populations exposed to fluoride occurring naturally in water supplies. The Newcastle study adds further confirmation that there is no evidence that the epidemiological findings relating to natural fluoride are inapplicable to artificial fluoridation.
Studies in England have found no relationship between fluoride naturally present in drinking-water and any of the non-dental health outcomes considered, including mortality from all causes, tuberculosis, cancers, cardiovascular diseases, influenza, pneumonia, bronchitis, peptic ulcer, nephritis, nephrosis, congenital malformations, mortality from accidents/poisonings/violence, stillbirths, infant mortality, osteochondritis juvenalis of the spine, goitre, excessive accumulation of fluoride in bone, and hip fracture.
We commissioned the bioavailability project as part of the programme of research with which we are strengthening the evidence base on fluoridation in accordance with the recommendations of the systematic review of fluoridation undertaken by the University of York.
139WA
§ Earl Baldwin of Bewdleyasked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Warner on 28 June (WA 6), why they draw conclusions for public health policy from a study on fluoride which has not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal. [HL3898]
§ Lord WarnerIt is the department's practice to submit reports of any research that it commissions for peer review before accepting the conclusions notwithstanding any arrangements the researchers choose to make about publishing their results. A draft ofBioavailahility of fluoride in drinking water—a human experimental study was submitted for peer review to five eminent academic experts in this field at universities in Sweden, the United States and the United Kingdom. The comments of the reviewers were then passed to the researchers at the School of Dental Sciences at Newcastle University to help with their preparation of the final report. In addition, Professor Andy Renwick of the University of Southampton provided advice on the project and on the draft report as an independent member of the department's steering group.