Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2019 Nov 2;16(21):4261.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph16214261.

Non-Carcinogenic Health Risk Assessment due to Fluoride Exposure from Tea Consumption in Iran Using Monte Carlo Simulation

Mohammad Amin Karami  1 , Yadollah Fakhri  2 , Shahabaldin Rezania  3 , Abdol Azim Alinejad  4 , Ali Akbar Mohammadi  5 , Mahmood Yousefi  6 , Mansour Ghaderpoori  7   8 , Mohammad Hossien Saghi  9 , Mohammad Ahmadpour  10
Affiliations

Non-Carcinogenic Health Risk Assessment due to Fluoride Exposure from Tea Consumption in Iran Using Monte Carlo Simulation

Mohammad Amin Karami et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Excessive intake of fluoride can cause adverse health effects. Consumption of tea as a popular drink could be a potential source of fluoride exposure to humans. This research aimed to evaluate the fluoride concentration in tea among the Iranian people using the available data in the literature and to assess the health risk related to the consumption of tea in men, women, and children. The health risk assessment was conducted using the chronic daily intake and hazard quotient according to the approach suggested by the Environmental Protection Agency. The fluoride content in published studies varied noticeably, ranging from 0.13 to 3.27 mg/L. The results revealed that the hazard quotient (HQ) in age groups of women (21-72 years) and children (0-11 years) was within the safe zone (HQ < 1) which showed that there was no potential of non-carcinogenic risk associated with drinking tea in these groups. However, in one case of the men (21-72 years), the HQ > 1 which shows a probable risk of fluorosis. The order of non-carcinogenic health risks in the studied groups was in the order of men > women > children. The results of this can be useful for organizations with the responsibility of human health promotion.

Keywords: Fluoride; Health risk assessment; Iran; Monte Carlo analysis; Tea.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Location map of performed studies related to fluoride in consumed tea in Iran. (A): Distribution Studies, (B): Harvesting tea, (C): Dried and processed tea, (D): Tea made for drinking.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Cumulative probability plot of fluoride concentration (mg/L) in the different studies: (a) Amanlou et al [23], (b) Asadi et al. [27], (c) Esfahanizade et al [26], (d) Mojarad et al. [17], (e) Mahvi et al. [28].
Figure 2
Figure 2
Cumulative probability plot of fluoride concentration (mg/L) in the different studies: (a) Amanlou et al [23], (b) Asadi et al. [27], (c) Esfahanizade et al [26], (d) Mojarad et al. [17], (e) Mahvi et al. [28].
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Mohammadi A.A., Yousefi M., Yaseri M., Jalilzadeh M., Mahvi A.H. Skeletal fluorosis in relation to drinking water in rural areas of West Azerbaijan, Iran. Sci. Rep. 2017;7:17300. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-17328-8. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ghaderpoori M., Paydar M., Zarei A., Alidadi H., Najafpoor A.A., Gohary A.H., Shams M. Health risk assessment of fluoride in water distribution network of Mashhad, Iran. Hum. Ecol. Risk Assess. Int. J. 2019;25:851–862. doi: 10.1080/10807039.2018.1453297. - DOI
    1. Miri M., Bhatnagar A., Mahdavi Y., Basiri L., Nakhaei A., Khosravi R., Eslami H., Ghasemi S.M., Balarak D., Alizadeh A. Probabilistic risk assessment of exposure to fluoride in most consumed brands of tea in the Middle East. Food Chem. Toxicol. 2018;115:267–272. doi: 10.1016/j.fct.2018.03.023. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Yousefi M., Ghoochani M., Mahvi A.H. Health risk assessment to fluoride in drinking water of rural residents living in the Poldasht city, Northwest of Iran. Ecotoxicol. Environ. Saf. 2018;148:426–430. doi: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2017.10.057. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Rezaei H., Jafari A., Kamarehie B., Fakhri Y., Ghaderpoury A., Karami M.A., Ghaderpoori M., Shams M., Bidarpoor F., Salimi M. Health-risk assessment related to the fluoride, nitrate, and nitrite in the drinking water in the Sanandaj, Kurdistan County, Iran. Hum. Ecol. Risk Assess. Int. J. 2019;25:1242–1250. doi: 10.1080/10807039.2018.1463510. - DOI

Publication types