URINARY FLUORIDE EXCRETION IN 3–5-YEAR-OLD CHILDREN WITH AND WITHOUT MALNUTRITION

Monitoring urinary fluoride ion (F) excretion, which directly reflects the intake of F, during tooth development has been used in different countries in systemic fluoridation programs. The objective of the present study was to analyze the effect of malnutrition on urinary fluoride excretion in 3-5-year-old children. Twenty-four hour urine samples were analyzed in 56, 3-5-year-old, children recruited in a rural community, with and without malnourishment, as assessed by their agerelated weight. No significant difference (p>0.05) was found in the daily total F urinary excretion between those with a normal weight (323±156 pg F /24 hr) and those with either mild (290±117 pg F/24 hr) or moderate (303±126 pg F/24 hr) malnutrition. We concluded that malnutrition did not affect the urinary F fluoride excretion.