title: Seasonal variation of fluoride intake by children in a subtropical region.
abstract: Since the optimum fluoride concentration in drinking water established for temperate countries has been considered not to be appropriate for tropical and subtropical climates, this study was conducted in Piracicaba, a subtropical, optimally fluoridated Brazilian community. The daily fluoride intake by 23 children (aged 20-30 months) from diet (liquids and solids) during the four seasons of the year was evaluated. Duplicate-plate samples of foods and beverages were collected for 2 days in each season of the year. The difference of fluoride intake during the 4 seasons was not statistically significant (p>0.05). However, the adjusted data, based on the volume of the diet collected and on the assumption of a constant fluoride concentration in the drinking water, showed that fluoride intake during spring-summer was statistically higher than that observed during the fall-winter seasons (p<0.05). The fluoride dose to which the children were submitted during the hot seasons would be 19% higher than that found during the cold ones. Although this dose difference would not to be a concern for a subtropical area, it could be relevant for a region with a genuine tropical climate.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Dentistry of Piracicaba, Unicamp, Campinas, Brazil.
authors.forename: Y B O
authors.initials: YB
authors.lastname: Lima
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Cury
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001628:Beverages / Q000032:analysis; D001938:Brazil; D002327:Cariostatic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000032:analysis; D004032:Diet; D005457:Fluoridation; D005459:Fluorides / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000032:analysis; D005504:Food Analysis; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D012621:Seasons; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D014329:Tropical Climate; D014881:Water Supply / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D002327:Cariostatic Agents; D005459:Fluorides