Introduction: Dental and skeletal fluorosis caused by chronic exposure to excessive fluoride, continue to be major health problems in many parts of the world. Ethiopia is one of the severely fluoride affected countries in Africa and about fourteen million people are estimated to be at risk of fluorosis. 

Objective: The main objective of the present study was to characterize and determine fluoride exposure and total daily fluoride intake of the general population living in eight camps of Metahara sugar estate area as well as risk of fluoride related health effects among the adult population.

Methods:  Fluoride content of various drinking water sources (i.e. piped, well and river water), beverages (i.e. tea and coffee) and the staple foods was determined. Fluoride was analyzed in repeated urine samples collected from 430 adult participants. The total daily fluoride intakes and the risk of skeletal fluorosis among the population were estimated following a health risk assessment methods.

Results:  The drinking water fluoride concentrations in well, piped and river water were measured as 3.7 ± 1.1 ppm, 0.84 ± 0.12 ppm and 1.0 ± 0.23 ppm, respectively.  Among the eight camps, Abadir II and Abadir IV were found to have the highest well water fluoride concentrations (mean 4.2 ppm ± 0.8 and 4.9 ppm ± 0.68, respectively).

The staple foods such as, Enjera (made from  teff,  Eragrostis tef), bread (made from wheat)  and bulenta (made from maize) were found to contain a mean fluoride concentrations of 3.76 ppm  (range 0.88 to 8.4 ppm),  1.9 ppm ( range 1.2 to 4.1 ppm) and 2.8 ppm ( range 0.9 to 5.8 ppm), respectively.  The mean fluoride concentrations of different sauces consumed with enjera were measured as 4.2 ppm  (range 1.2 to 9.9 ppm) in a sauce made from beans (shero), 4.0 ppm (range 1.9 to 7.9 ppm) in a sauce made from lentils,   1.8 ppm (range 0.9 to 2.7 ppm) in a sauce made from peas and 1.97 ppm  ( range 1.1 to 3.3 ppm) in mixed vegetables. Tea and coffee prepared and consumed by the populations were found to contain a mean fluoride concentrations of  5.2 ppm (range 2.7 to 12.5 ppm)   and 2.4 ppm ( range 1.2 ppm to 6.1 ppm), respectively.

The overall mean urinary fluoride concentration was 5.5 ppm (range 0.4 to 19.2 ppm). The highest  mean urinary fluoride concentrations (mean: 7.86 ± 2.9 ppm, 7.49 ± 3.28 ppm, 7.19 ± 2.6 ± ppm and 6.6 ± 3.1 ppm ) were measured among participants living in Abadir III, Abadir II, Awash and Abadir IV camps, respectively.  Water fluoride concentrations were positively significantly correlated to urinary fluoride concentrations on a group basis when the mean water and mean urinary fluoride concentrations are compared (R = 0.42, p < 0.05).

All of the well water samples have fluoride concentration above the WHO   maximal optimal level for fluoride (1.5 mg/l) (WHO, 2006). The urine fluoride levels were relatively high and more than 80 percent of the participants exceeded a urine fluoride level (0.2 to 3.2 ppm) which is usually measured in non-occupationally exposed people of the general population. The staple foods particularly enjera with  a sauce, shero significantly contributed to the total daily fluoride intake.

Conclusion: A large part of the population living in Metahara sugare estate area is exposed to fluoride through drinking water, food and beverages consumption at levels where there is a significant risk of fluorosis

• Legal notice:
  

  Copyright (c) Pielaszek Research, all rights reserved.
  The above materials, including auxiliary resources, are subject to Publisher's copyright and the Author(s) intellectual rights. Without limiting Author(s) rights under respective Copyright Transfer Agreement, no part of the above documents may be reproduced without the express written permission of Pielaszek Research, the Publisher. Express permission from the Author(s) is required to use the above materials for academic purposes, such as lectures or scientific presentations.
  In every case, proper references including Author(s) name(s) and URL of this webpage: https://science24.com/paper/28321 must be provided.