Search

Recent ecological comparison studies have suggested a positive association between fluoridation and hip fracture. Using data from the Rochester Epidemiology Project, we found the incidence of hip fracture for the 10 years before the fluoridation of the Rochester, Minn, public water supply was 484 per 100 000, compared with 450 per 100 000 in the following 10 years. When the effects of calendar time and age were controlled for, the relative risk associated with fluoridation was 0.63. These ecologic trend data suggest that the fluoridation of public water supplies is not associated with an immediate increase in rates of hip fracture. Further studies of this association at the individual level are clearly required before public policy decisions can be made. (Am J Public Health. 1993;83:743-745), Fluoridation of drinking water had no significant effect on the rate of hip fractures in people 50 years old or older in Rochester, MN, in the 10 years after fluoridation began. Rochester began fluoridating its drinking water in 1960. Hip fractures that occurred between 1950 and 1969 were identified from medical records. This allowed for comparison of rates for the 10 years before and the 10 years after fluoridation. The incidence of hip fractures in the 10 years before fluoridation was 484 per 100,000. The rate in the 10 years following fluoridation was comparable, 450 per 100,000. Further research is necessary because other studies have found slight increases in the risk of hip fractures after fluoridation.