Drinking Water and Diabetes: An Association in One Canadian Province

[CoastWatcher]

Higher concentrations of arsenic and fluoride in the public drinking water supply in Newfoundland and Labrador may be associated with the high incidence of type 1 diabetes in the Canadian province, according to findings published in BMJ Open Diabetes Research & Care.

• Newfoundland and Labrador has the second highest incidence rate of type 1 diabetes in the world after Finland, with an incidence rate of 49.9 per 100,000 for children during the 2007-2010 period. The highest incidence during 2007-2010 was among children aged 5 to 9 years, they noted, with an incidence rate ratio of 59.1 for that age group.
• "There is accumulating evidence that drinking-water ingredients may be implicated in the environmental exposures contributing to the pathogenesis and progression of type 1 diabetes,” Chafe and colleagues wrote. “Newfoundland and Labrador has one of the highest reported incidences of type 1 diabetes worldwide, and the reasons for these high rates are unknown. The rates of type 1 diabetes are increasing in the province.”
• In a community-based, case-control study, the authors analyzed longitudinal data on the incidence rates of type 1 diabetes in 240 communities with a single public water supply monitored by the Provincial Department of Environment and Climate Change between 2000 and 2012.
• Water quality for each community was averaged during the sampling period to produce one representative value for 21 nutrients and metals and eight major ions, including arsenic, fluoride, barium and nickel.
• Cases of type 1 diabetes, identified using the Newfoundland and Labrador Pediatric Diabetes Database, were assigned to communities based on self-reported place of residence at the time of diagnosis. Cases occurring in communities not supplied by public water were excluded.
• Researchers observed 499 cases of type 1 diabetes between 2001 and 2012, for an incident rate of 51.7 per 100,000 people for the province during the study period, with 87% of cases occurring in 114 communities serviced by the public water supply.
• In these communities, the concentration of water nutrients and metals, including ammonia, barium, copper, lead, magnesium, uranium and zinc, were higher vs. communities without diabetes cases, according to researchers.

"Drinking water linked to high type 1 diabetes rate in Canadian province," Helio, 23 February 2018, https://www.healio.com/endocrinolog...igh-type-1-diabetes-rate-in-canadian-province

 

[Re-Ride]

Of the 21 metals and nutrients and 8 major ions study the association with diabetes was with arsenic and fluoride only. The data was from water quality monitoring was done from 2000 to 2012 by the Provincial Department of Environment and Climate Change.

Contrasting the approach toward fluoridation in the U.S.:

https://www.cdc.gov/fluoridation/faqs/wellwater.htm
The CDC will only address fluoride as a benefit in tooth decay prevention.
"Supplement fluoride if your well is "below the optimum level of 0.7 mg/L"
2 mg/L is just fine
>4 mg/L maybe possibly you should't drink it but we're not sure

Surgeon General Murthy: "fluoridation is one of the 10 greatest public health achievements of the 20th century"

General Jack D Ripper: the sole voice against fluoridation in 1964:

• "Do you realize that in addition to fluoridating water, why, there are studies underway to fluoridate salt, flour, fruit juices, soup, sugar, milk, ice cream? Ice cream, Mandrake? Children's ice cream!...You know when fluoridation began?...1946. 1946, Mandrake. How does that coincide with your post-war Commie conspiracy, huh? It's incredibly obvious, isn't it? A foreign substance is introduced into our precious bodily fluids without the knowledge of the individual, and certainly without any choice. That's the way your hard-core Commie works. I first became aware of it, Mandrake, during the physical act of love... Yes, a profound sense of fatigue, a feeling of emptiness followed. Luckily I — I was able to interpret these feelings correctly. Loss of essence. I can assure you it has not recurred, Mandrake. Women, er, women sense my power, and they seek the life essence. I do not avoid women, Mandrake...but I do deny them my essence."

Fluoride as a endocrine disruptor in 1964 is a nice touch

Stanley Kubrick as always was spot on. Dissidents on fluoridation are dangerous conspiracy theorists. Testing your water will likely get you put on watch list.

 

[John Bell]

I know that quality of water is deeply affects on our health, but I never thought that it's connected with diabetes.

 

[looyvillelarry]

Interesting. I wonder why they focused on only Type 1. Maybe because that reduced the lifestyle variance issue ? I haven't had a chance to read the whole study yet, but that would be very interesting to see if similar results were with Type 2.