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

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.

Effects of brewing conditions on infusible fluoride levels in tea and herbal products and probabilistic health risk assessment

“…Health risk assessment using a probabilistic approach with the Monte Carlo simulation, was used to evaluate the adverse health effects of toxic chemicals to obtain a more realistic risk estimation as compared with that obtained using the traditional deterministic risk assessment approach 44 . The estimated risk value with a probability distribution was achieved by this method resulting in its use to assess the potential health risk of pollutants in various environmental media 21 , 45 .…”

“…For instance, the consumption rate of tea might vary depending on the climatic conditions 48 . Moreover, personal lifestyle habits and cultural conditions might affect the daily ingestion of fluoride 45 , 48 . Additional studies focusing on these parameters are required to enhance the accuracy of the risk estimation among tea consumers in Thailand.…”

Monte Carlo approach to risks assessment of heavy metals at automobile spare part and recycling market in Ilorin, Nigeria

“…The Monte Carlo simulation has the advantage of minimizing uncertainty. In this method, arbitrary values are continually picked from the probability distribution of numerous values inputted to find the probability distribution of risk [39][40][41] . Rather than utilizing one-point value, in the MCS, several values are utilized to repeatedly calculate and lastly obtain the results with different assurance levels ranging from 1 to 99%.…”

Synthesis and characterization of aluminum-based adsorbent and application in fluoride removal from aqueous solution

“…In addition to natural sources, fluoride may also be found in industrial wastes such as semiconductor industries [14][15][16] the metal surface treatment 17 , the fertilizers production 18 , the application of the fertilizers and pesticides in the agriculture, and glass manufacturing 19,20 . The discharge of these industrial effluents can lead to an increase in the fluoride level in the receiving aqueous media (ex: groundwater table) where they are transferred by infiltration which can lead to environmental and health impacts [21][22][23][24] . In fact, recent literature reports that an excessive fluoride amount can produce toxic effects in animals and plants such a way that the fluoride ions act as enzyme poisons, inhibiting enzymatic activity and interrupting metabolic processes like the glycolysis and plant protein synthesis 25 .…”

“…Moreover, the high concentrations of fluoride can inhibit or increase the algae population growth and lead to a decrease in oxygen levels in aquatic systems 22 . Recently many scientific reports seem to suggest that fluoride intake may be associated with a number of human health problems [26][27][28] , for instance osteoporosis 29,30 , arthritis, bone fragility 31 , brain damage 32 , etc.…”