A study on Epidemiology of Fluorosis in a village of Nalgonda district, Andhra Pradesh

Introduction : Fluorosis is an important problem of public health importance in some states of India. Nalgonda is one such district in Andhra Pradesh which is endemic for fluorosis. Objectives : To study the epidemiology and estimate the prevalence of fluorosis in Cherlapally village of Nalgonda district. Materials and Methods : Descriptive, crosssectional study of the sample population of Cherlapally village by door to door approach and interview of the study population by questionnaire method.624 subjects residing in 104 households were selected by systematic sampling. 306 cases of fluorosis were diagnosed clinically. This was followed by collection of samples of drinking water, blood and urine samples. Samples of ground water were also collected to estimate the fluoride levels. Estimation of fluoride levels was by Fluoride Ion Electrode.(Eutech Instruments Pte Ltd.). All the data was analyzed by SPSS version of 10.0 for windows. Results: Overall Prevalence of fluorosis cases was found to be 49%. Prevalence of dental fluorosis was 28%, that of skeletal fluorosis was 21% and that of both was 13.1%. Majority of the fluorosis cases were in the age group of 41-60 years. The mean fluoride level in ground water sources was 3.76 mg/l. Conclusion: Practical training, workshops etc. for health staff, low cost water treatment technologies and nutrition and health education to people will help in mitigating the problem of fluorosis.