FLUORIDE 30 (2)  1997, p. 130	International Society for Fluoride Research	Table of Contents

NO ASSOCIATION BETWEEN FLUORIDATION OF WATER
SUPPLIES AND SUDDEN INFANT DEATH SYNDROME

E A Mitchell, J M D Thompson and B Borman
Auckland and Wellington, New Zealand

Abstracted from New Zealand Medical Journal 104 500-501 1991

This short study 1) reviewed the scientific literature on the relation between fluoridation and SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome); and 2) examined whether water fluoridation was associated with SIDS mortality in New Zealand by obtaining SIDS mortality rates, mean annual daily temperatures, and median fluoridation concentrations (g/m³) for each of the 14 official health districts.

The authors found no publications dealing with fluoridation and SIDS. They presented a Figure depicting no SIDS/fluoridation relationship, and concluded:

"The effect of average temperature on SIDS mortality rate in New Zealand must be taken into account in any study that examines the effect of region on mortality. In our study we found that mean daily temperature was highly correlated with SIDS mortality. The addition of fluoridation concentration to the model showed no improvement in the model. If anything the higher the SIDS mortality rate the lower the fluoride concentration. This study clearly shows there is no indication of a relationship between fluoridation of the water supply and SIDS in New Zealand. The study has not attempted to address the question of the value of fluoridation. It does, however, highlight the unethical scare tactics used by some in the antifluoridation lobby. The publication of unfounded theories by the media causes much distress to the families who have lost an infant from SIDS."

[Editor's comment: We publish this abstract because the study is a good example of its kind, especially the expectation that a correlation must be linear, and also because Professor Albert Schatz has offered a critique (pages 131-133). This critique, and the letter from Dr Hans Moolenburg (pages 134-135), as well as the earlier article by Dr Richard Foulkes (Fluoride 29 (4) 230-236 1996), draw attention to the possibility of paradoxical effects when looking at relationships.]

FLUORIDE 30 (2)  1997, p. 130	International Society for Fluoride Research
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