66 American Dental Association the researchers failing to account for the high levels of aluminum and fluoride in the chow fed to all test rodents.161 For decades, a small number of researchers have implicated aluminum in the development of late-onset Alzheimer’s disease. However, the “Aluminum Hypothesis” has been abandoned by the majority of mainstream scientists.162 In 2000, a study163 investigated the relationships between trace elements in drinking water and the thought processes of 1,016 subjects over the age of 65 living in two rural areas of China. In today’s U.S. society, people are very mobile and tend to live in multiple places during their lifetimes. In contrast, the rural residents of China rarely move and so in this study the researchers were able to assume that this elderly population had used the same water and food sources throughout their lifetimes. The researchers evaluated the effects on thought processes of seven elements (cadmium, calcium, fluoride, iron, lead, selenium and zinc) found in the water sources at the two study sites. The study assessed thought processes in three areas (memory, language and attention) using a Chinese translation of the Community Screening Interview for Dementia. Taking into account the effects of the seven trace elements, the authors concluded that fluoride is not significantly related to impairment of thought processes such as is seen in Alzheimer’s disease.163 44. Does drinking water fluoridated at recommended levels cause or contribute to heart disease? Answer. Drinking water fluoridated at recommended levels is not a risk factor for heart disease. Fact. The American Heart Association identifies aging, male gender, heredity, cigarette and tobacco smoke, high blood cholesterol levels, high blood pressure, physical inactivity, obesity and diabetes mellitus as major risk factors for cardiovascular disease.164 The American Heart Association’s website notes: “No evidence exists that adjusting the fluoride content of public water supplies to a level of about one part per million has any harmful effect on the cardiovascular system.”165 A number of historical studies have evaluated urban mortality in relation to fluoridation status. Researchers from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health examined a wide range of data from communities that had naturally high levels, optimal levels and low levels of fluoride in water. The results of their analysis published in 1972166 concluded, “Thus, the evidence from comparison of the health of fluoridating and nonfluoridating cities, from medical and pathological examination of persons exposed to a lifetime of naturally occurring fluorides or persons with high industrial exposures, and from broad national experience with fluoridation all consistently indicate no adverse effect on cardiovascular health.”166 Two additional studies were published in 1978. In the first study,104 the mortality trends from 1950-70 were studied for 473 cities in the United States with populations of 25,000 or more. Findings showed no relationship between fluoridation and heart disease death rates over the 20-year period.104 In the second study,105 the mortality rates for approximately 30 million people in 24 fluoridated cities were compared with those of 22 nonfluoridated cities for two years. No evidence was found of any harmful health effects, including heart disease, attributable to fluoridation.105 The misinterpretation of the results of a study by those opposed to fluoridation167 led the opposition to claim that “research highlights the fact that mass fluoride exposure may be to blame for the cardiovascular disease epidemic that takes more lives each year than cancer.”167 In fact, the study published in Nuclear Medicine Communications in January 2012168 examines the possible benefits of using a sodium fluoride isotope marker in testing to determine the presence of atherosclerosis and risk for coronary disease. In this case, fluoride’s affinity for calcified tissue aided in the location of calcium deposited in arterial walls which could be associated with an increased risk of coronary artery disease. The study made no reference to any relationship between the consumption of fluoridated water and heart disease.168