Sadly, this will be my last post of NZ blog rankings.
I have been doing this for quite a while and it will be sad to let it go. Many might say that blogs are no longer as important as they were some years back. Other forms of social media have taken over.
I think that argument has some validity but that is not the reason for my decision to pack it in. The real problem is my health. A had a minor stroke a year ago and have since found writing, and computer use, very difficult. This sort of activity is quite frustrating for me (I tend to end up swearing a lot) and it’s not helped by the way software nerds update things, forcing me to undergo the extra frustrations of learning new tricks simply to do the old things in the ways which were more comfortable.
Hopefully giving up a few jobs like this will remove some of the unhealthy frustrations. I hope to attempt other writing on my blog (it’s supposed to be good for me) but we will see.
I anyone else is interested in carrying on this regular blog ranking please feel free to do so.
Here are the rankings of New Zealand blogs with publicly available statistics for July 2021. Ranking is by visit numbers. I have listed the blogs in the table below, together with monthly visits and page view numbers.
You can see data for previous months at Blog Ranks
I notice a few regulars no longer allow public access to the site counters. This may happen accidentally when the blog format is altered. If your blog is unexpectedly missing or the numbers seem very low please check this out. After correcting send me the URL for your site meter and I can correct the information in the database.
Similarly, if your blog data in this list seems out of whack, please check your site meter. Usually, the problem is that for some reason your site meter is no longer working.
Sitemeter is no longer working so the total number of NZ blogs in this list has been drastically reduced. I recommend anyone with Sitemeter consider transferring to one of the other meters. See NZ Blog Rankings FAQ.
This list is compiled automatically from the data in the various site meters used. If you feel the data in this list is wrong could you check to make sure the problem is not with your own site meter? I am of course happy to correct any mistakes that occur in the automatic transfer of data to this list but cannot be responsible for the site meters themselves. They do play up.
Every month I get queries from people wanting their own blog included. I encourage and am happy to respond to queries but have prepared a list of frequently asked questions (FAQs) people can check out. Have a look at NZ Blog Rankings FAQ. This is particularly helpful to those wondering how to set up sitemeters. Please note, the system is automatic and relies on blogs having sitemeters that allow public access to the stats.
Here are the rankings of New Zealand blogs with publicly available statistics for July 2021. Ranking is by visit numbers. I have listed the blogs in the table below, together with monthly visits and page view numbers. Meanwhile, I am still keen to hear of any other blogs with publicly available sitemeter or visitor stats that I have missed. Contact me if you know of any or wish help adding publicly available stats to your bog.
You can see data for previous months at Blog Ranks
I notice a few regulars no longer allow public access to the site counters. This may happen accidentally when the blog format is altered. If your blog is unexpectedly missing or the numbers seem very low please check this out. After correcting send me the URL for your site meter and I can correct the information in the database.
Similarly, if your blog data in this list seems out of whack, please check your site meter. Usually, the problem is that for some reason your site meter is no longer working.
Sitemeter is no longer working so the total number of NZ blogs in this list has been drastically reduced. I recommend anyone with Sitemeter consider transferring to one of the other meters. See NZ Blog Rankings FAQ.
This list is compiled automatically from the data in the various site meters used. If you feel the data in this list is wrong could you check to make sure the problem is not with your own site meter? I am of course happy to correct any mistakes that occur in the automatic transfer of data to this list but cannot be responsible for the site meters themselves. They do play up.
Every month I get queries from people wanting their own blog included. I encourage and am happy to respond to queries but have prepared a list of frequently asked questions (FAQs) people can check out. Have a look at NZ Blog Rankings FAQ. This is particularly helpful to those wondering how to set up sitemeters. Please note, the system is automatic and relies on blogs having sitemeters which allow public access to the stats.
Here are the rankings of New Zealand blogs with publicly available statistics for June 2021. Ranking is by visit numbers. I have listed the blogs in the table below, together with monthly visits and page view numbers. Meanwhile, I am still keen to hear of any other blogs with publicly available sitemeter or visitor stats that I have missed. Contact me if you know of any or wish help adding publicly available stats to your bog.
You can see data for previous months at Blog Ranks
FFNZ spreads misinformation about the NZ fluoridation review – yet again
New Zealand opponents of community water fluoridation (CWF) are at it again. Their only response to the recently upgraded fluoridation review is to call it “propaganda” and to completely misrepresent it. But it’s interesting to look at their misrepresentation because it does highlight a basic flaw in the studies the anti-fluoride campaign has been promoting.
“among the many mistakes and reliance on out-of-date science, the most glaring issue is that she refers to two of the best studies ever carried out on fluoride and IQ (Mexico and Canada) as “having high prenatal exposure”. This is probably the most egregious misrepresentation in the review and hard to believe it was not done to purposely misrepresent.”
But this is completely false. In discussing the Canadian study the review actually says it:
“found that the mother’s exposure to fluoride during pregnancy was associated with lower IQ scores [54] in boys (but not girls), even at optimally fluoridated water levels (i.e. between 0.7-1.2 mg/L). If this finding were replicated in robust studies, it would potentially be concerning as Aotearoa New Zealand recommends fluoridation of water between 0.7 and 1.0 mg/L. There was significant and valid criticism of aspects of the study by many subject-matter experts when it was released (see for example, ‘expert reaction to study looking at maternal exposure to fluoride and IQ in children’). The study used sub-group analysis to find an association that is not explained in the paper (i.e. why were only boys affected [55] and why verbal IQ was not impacted), the effect appeared to be driven by the minority of participants that had much higher fluoride exposures (i.e. higher than those in Aotearoa New Zealand).” [My emphasis]
So the review does refer to the Canadian study being conducted at “optimally fluoridated water levels (i.e. between 0.7-1.2 mg/L)” – not at the elevated levels leading to “high prenatal exposure” that FFNZ falsely (and “egregiously”) asserts. But the key assertion by the NZ fluoridation review is that “the effect appeared to be driven by the minority of participants that had much higher fluoride exposures.”
Outliers lead to false conclusions
Canadian study promoted by opponents of community water fluoridation relies on just a few outliers Image credit: The problem with outliers
It’s quite simple really. Even within a group exposed to levels of fluoride expected with CWF there can be some individuals who receive higher exposes (f0r instance through consumption of fluoridated toothpaste or industrial pollution).
Looking at the data in the Canadian study in the image below taken from Green et al (2019) we can see that while most data points are clustered together at urinary F concentrations less than 1 mg/L there are a few data points at high urinary F concentrations and these do appear to drive the relationship they report – particularly for boys.
For the more statistically inclined reader, the table below summarises the relationships obtained by linear regression analysis. While the authors reported a statistically significant relationship for all the urinary fluoride concentrations up to 2.5 mg/L when the four high-end outliers (> 2.0 mg/L) are removed there is no significant relationship.
So I think the suggestion of the updated NZ fluoridation review is quite correct. The effect reported by Green et al (2019) is driven by just a few outliers and there is no statistically significant relationship when those four outliers are removed. That gives a false impression of the effect of CWF and in fact, their data shows absolutely no difference between IQ in fluoridated areas and unfluoridated areas.
Note 1: There is a discrepancy in the first table between the relationship reported by Green et al (2019) and that based on digitally extracted data points. Unfortunately, only 82% of the claimed data points could be extracted which is strange as usually close to 100% of data points can be extracted. Other commenters have reported the same problem. So it appears the authors have not included all their data in the figures and they have so far refused to make their data available for independent statistical analysis.
Although the Green et al (2019) paper did not cite R-squared values in her Master thesis did cite an R-squared value of 0.049 for boys. The low R-squared values (meaning the inclusion of the coefficient explains at most only a few per cent of the variation) and relatively high regression standard errors suggest that the reported coefficients are meaningless (they can be ignored in any model) – even if statistically significant.
Note 2: In case anyone suggests I have neglected the FFNZ reference to the Mexican study. That study took place in an area of endemic fluorosis and the authors have no record of the water fluoride levels mothers were exposed to. Bashesh et al (2017) reported:
“By virtue of living in Mexico, individuals participating in the study have been exposed to fluoridated salt (at 250 ppm) and to varying degrees of naturally occurring fluoride in drinking water. Previous reports, based on samples taken from different urban and rural areas, indicate that natural water fluoride levels in Mexico City may range from 0.15 to 1:38 mg/L. Mean fluoride content for Mexico City’s water supply is not available because fluoride is not reported as part of water quality control programs in Mexico.
Despite this, the Bashash study is often unjustly included with studies from areas of CWF by coauthors of Bashash and Green (see for example Farmus et al 2001). Anti-fluoride activists almost always make this mistake. Sure, they may attempt to justify their treatment of Bashash et al (2017) as relevant to CWF based on urinary fluoride values. But these a subject to so much variation and usually involve different collection and correction methods making comparison unjustified.
An updated New Zealand scientific review of community water fluoridation (CWF) finds that CWF in New Zealand is safe and effective. The new review, Fluoridation: an update on evidence, was published by the New Zealand Prime Minister’s Chief Science Advisor Juliet Gerrard FRSNZ HonFRSC. It examines scientific findings published since the last New Zealand fluoridation review in 2014 – Eason et al (2014). Health effects of water fluoridation: A review of the scientific evidence. It states:
“Royal Society Te Apārangi published a comprehensive review in 2014 looking at the health effects of water fluoridation [Eason et al. 2014]. The review found that there were no adverse effects of fluoride of any significance arising from fluoridation at the levels used in Aotearoa New Zealand. We have considered new research on fluoridation and comprehensive reviews published subsequently, and find that the conclusions of the Royal Society Te Apārangi remain appropriate.”
So, in effect, nothing new there as far as conclusions are concerned. New Zealanders should continue to welcome CWF without any fear of negative effects. But some readers may be interested in the details – specifically the review’s conclusions about the new research which anti-fluoride activists have been promoting of late. Opponents of CWF have in the last year or so almost exclusively concentrated their campaigns on claimed harmful neurodevelopmental and cognitive impacts. The review considers this in a section “Could fluoride have possible neurodevelopmental and cognitive health effects?” and concludes:
“Recent studies continue to show that at very high levels and with chronic exposure, fluoride could potentially have negative neurodevelopmental and cognitive impacts. However, this is not a concern at levels used in fluoridation of water supplies in Aotearoa New Zealand.”
In particular, the new review considered the studies opponents of CWF claim show harmful effects at the water fluoride concentrations used in CWF. It found problems with these studies and states:
“The conclusion reached by Royal Society Te Apārangi remains appropriate. While there is some evidence that high fluoride concentrations may have an adverse effect on developing brains, there is no convincing evidence of neurological effects at fluoride concentrations achieved by fluoridation of water supplies in Aotearoa New Zealand.”
The new review could be better
Of course, the review is written for policymakers and politicians who want the conclusions but don’t want to see the detailed evidence. They will have confidence that behind the scenes proper scientific scrutiny was made of the studies discussed. But, as a scientist, I would have liked to see more details about that scrutiny. For example, a lot more could be said about the deficiencies of the Canadian study (Green et al., 2019) than:
“There was significant and valid criticism of aspects of the study by many subject-matter experts when it was released (see for example, ‘expert reaction to study looking at maternal exposure to fluoride and IQ in children’). The study used sub-group analysis to find an association that is not explained in the paper (i.e. why were only boys affected and why verbal IQ was not impacted), the effect appeared to be driven by the minority of participants that had much higher fluoride exposures (i.e. higher than those in Aotearoa New Zealand).”
I find this statement in the review a bit misleading:
“The results found in the study undertaken in Canada [56] are also in contrast to those found in the study undertaken in Aotearoa New Zealand [57], which has the advantage of more accurately reflecting local contextual factors.”
It refers to the Green et al., (2019) and Broadbent et al (2015) studies claiming their results are contradictory. But in terms of their comparison of IQ in fluoridated and unfluoridated areas this table shows their findings were exactly the same – absolutely no difference. (Till et al 2020 used essentially the same Canadian data) I think this comparison should have been made clear in the review because it is important but is most often overlooked because opponents of fluoridation, and the study’s authors, never consider it. They remain silent about the facts in this table. This is hypocritical considering the attempts anti-fluoridation critics made to discredit the same finding reported by Broadbent et al (2015) when their paper was published.
Fluoridation opponents have instead concentrated on the relationships between maternal urinary fluoride and child IQ outcomes reported by Green et al (2019). However, all those relationships were extremely weak (explaining only a few per cent of the variation) or statistically non-significant.
The bias of the authors of the Green et al (2019) and Till et al (2020) studies is evident not only in their complete absence of discussion of their own results showing no difference between fluoridated and unfluoridated areas. It is also shown by the fact neither Green et al (2019) or Till et al (2020) referred to the findings of Broadbent et al (2015) or include that paper in their discussion or reference list. (Contrast this with the fact Green et al 2019 included four papers published in the journal Fluoride, known for its anti-fluoridation bias and poor quality).
These omissions are serious as Broadbent et al (2015) is the only other study of IQ in areas including CWF. This defect in the papers appears not to have been picked up by the publishing journals’ referees – which brings me to question the quality of the peer review used for these papers.
We really need to have a more extensive critique of these studies with proper consideration of the methodologies used (e.g. measurement of urinary fluoride and cognitive factors), the statistical relevance of the reported relationships and the quality of their literature reviews and discussions.
A timely, authoritative and useful review
This new review is timely. The NZ Parliament will soon pass legislation removing the current local body control of regional fluoridation decisions over to the Director-General of Health. Anti-fluoride activists will actively campaign against this and will be promoting misinformation about the recent research. The new review provides lawmakers and the media with up to date scientific information, presented in a popular format, which will counter the anti-fluoridation campaigners.
The backing of the office of the New Zealand Prime Minister’s Chief Science Advisor provides scientific authority. As do the 12 reputable scientists who provided peer reviews of the document.
The more science-savvy members of the public who want to see evidence rather than simply rely on recommendations will also find the review and its bibliography useful.
Many opponents of CWF may be distracted by other things like the Covid19 vaccination issue at the moment. However, the anti-fluoridation campaign has big financial backers locally and internationally so it is likely they will come up with something a lot more effective than the recent attempt by Fluoride Free NZ to pretend that the new review effectively supports their claims.
I look forward to analysing any substantial critique they can make of the updated NMZ Fluoridation review.
A meme promoted by Fluoride Free NZ seeks to pretend the new fluoridation review supports their claims. It doesn’t.
I notice a few regulars no longer allow public access to the site counters. This may happen accidentally when the blog format is altered. If your blog is unexpectedly missing or the numbers seem very low please check this out. After correcting send me the URL for your site meter and I can correct the information in the database.
Similarly, if your blog data in this list seems out of whack, please check your site meter. Usually, the problem is that for some reason your site meter is no longer working.
Sitemeter is no longer working so the total number of NZ blogs in this list has been drastically reduced. I recommend anyone with Sitemeter consider transferring to one of the other meters. See NZ Blog Rankings FAQ.
This list is compiled automatically from the data in the various site meters used. If you feel the data in this list is wrong could you check to make sure the problem is not with your own site meter? I am of course happy to correct any mistakes that occur in the automatic transfer of data to this list but cannot be responsible for the site meters themselves. They do play up.
Every month I get queries from people wanting their own blog included. I encourage and am happy to respond to queries but have prepared a list of frequently asked questions (FAQs) people can check out. Have a look at NZ Blog Rankings FAQ. This is particularly helpful to those wondering how to set up sitemeters. Please note, the system is automatic and relies on blogs having sitemeters which allow public access to the stats.
Here are the rankings of New Zealand blogs with publicly available statistics for May 2021. Ranking is by visit numbers. I have listed the blogs in the table below, together with monthly visits and page view numbers. Meanwhile, I am still keen to hear of any other blogs with publicly available sitemeter or visitor stats that I have missed. Contact me if you know of any or wish help adding publicly available stats to your bog.
You can see data for previous months at Blog Ranks
I notice a few regulars no longer allow public access to the site counters. This may happen accidentally when the blog format is altered. If your blog is unexpectedly missing or the numbers seem very low please check this out. After correcting send me the URL for your site meter and I can correct the information in the database.
Similarly, if your blog data in this list seems out of whack, please check your site meter. Usually, the problem is that for some reason your site meter is no longer working.
Sitemeter is no longer working so the total number of NZ blogs in this list has been drastically reduced. I recommend anyone with Sitemeter consider transferring to one of the other meters. See NZ Blog Rankings FAQ.
This list is compiled automatically from the data in the various site meters used. If you feel the data in this list is wrong could you check to make sure the problem is not with your own site meter? I am of course happy to correct any mistakes that occur in the automatic transfer of data to this list but cannot be responsible for the site meters themselves. They do play up.
Every month I get queries from people wanting their own blog included. I encourage and am happy to respond to queries but have prepared a list of frequently asked questions (FAQs) people can check out. Have a look at NZ Blog Rankings FAQ. This is particularly helpful to those wondering how to set up sitemeters. Please note, the system is automatic and relies on blogs having sitemeters which allow public access to the stats.
Here are the rankings of New Zealand blogs with publicly available statistics for April 2021. Ranking is by visit numbers. I have listed the blogs in the table below, together with monthly visits and page view numbers. Meanwhile, I am still keen to hear of any other blogs with publicly available sitemeter or visitor stats that I have missed. Contact me if you know of any or wish help adding publicly available stats to your bog.
You can see data for previous months at Blog Ranks
I notice a few regulars no longer allow public access to the site counters. This may happen accidentally when the blog format is altered. If your blog is unexpectedly missing or the numbers seem very low please check this out. After correcting send me the URL for your site meter and I can correct the information in the database.
Similarly, if your blog data in this list seems out of whack, please check your site meter. Usually, the problem is that for some reason your site meter is no longer working.
Sitemeter is no longer working so the total number of NZ blogs in this list has been drastically reduced. I recommend anyone with Sitemeter consider transferring to one of the other meters. See NZ Blog Rankings FAQ.
This list is compiled automatically from the data in the various site meters used. If you feel the data in this list is wrong could you check to make sure the problem is not with your own site meter? I am of course happy to correct any mistakes that occur in the automatic transfer of data to this list but cannot be responsible for the site meters themselves. They do play up.
Every month I get queries from people wanting their own blog included. I encourage and am happy to respond to queries but have prepared a list of frequently asked questions (FAQs) people can check out. Have a look at NZ Blog Rankings FAQ. This is particularly helpful to those wondering how to set up sitemeters. Please note, the system is automatic and relies on blogs having sitemeters which allow public access to the stats.
Here are the rankings of New Zealand blogs with publicly available statistics for March 2021. Ranking is by visit numbers. I have listed the blogs in the table below, together with monthly visits and page view numbers. Meanwhile, I am still keen to hear of any other blogs with publicly available sitemeter or visitor stats that I have missed. Contact me if you know of any or wish help adding publicly available stats to your bog.
You can see data for previous months at Blog Ranks
I notice a few regulars no longer allow public access to the site counters. This may happen accidentally when the blog format is altered. If your blog is unexpectedly missing or the numbers seem very low please check this out. After correcting send me the URL for your site meter and I can correct the information in the database.
Similarly, if your blog data in this list seems out of whack, please check your site meter. Usually, the problem is that for some reason your site meter is no longer working.
Sitemeter is no longer working so the total number of NZ blogs in this list has been drastically reduced. I recommend anyone with Sitemeter consider transferring to one of the other meters. See NZ Blog Rankings FAQ.
This list is compiled automatically from the data in the various site meters used. If you feel the data in this list is wrong could you check to make sure the problem is not with your own site meter? I am of course happy to correct any mistakes that occur in the automatic transfer of data to this list but cannot be responsible for the site meters themselves. They do play up.
Every month I get queries from people wanting their own blog included. I encourage and am happy to respond to queries but have prepared a list of frequently asked questions (FAQs) people can check out. Have a look at NZ Blog Rankings FAQ. This is particularly helpful to those wondering how to set up sitemeters. Please note, the system is automatic and relies on blogs having sitemeters that allow public access to the stats.
Here are the rankings of New Zealand blogs with publicly available statistics for February 2021. The ranking is by visit numbers. I have listed the blogs in the table below, together with monthly visits and page view numbers. Meanwhile, I am still keen to hear of any other blogs with publicly available sitemeter or visitor stats that I have missed. Contact me if you know of any or wish help adding publicly available stats to your bog.
You can see data for previous months at Blog Ranks
I notice a few regulars no longer allow public access to the site counters. This may happen accidentally when the blog format is altered. If your blog is unexpectedly missing or the numbers seem very low please check this out. After correcting send me the URL for your site meter and I can correct the information in the database.
Similarly, if your blog data in this list seems out of whack, please check your site meter. Usually, the problem is that for some reason your site meter is no longer working.
Sitemeter is no longer working so the total number of NZ blogs in this list has been drastically reduced. I recommend anyone with Sitemeter consider transferring to one of the other meters. See NZ Blog Rankings FAQ.
This list is compiled automatically from the data in the various site meters used. If you feel the data in this list is wrong could you check to make sure the problem is not with your own site meter? I am of course happy to correct any mistakes that occur in the automatic transfer of data to this list but cannot be responsible for the site meters themselves. They do play up.
Every month I get queries from people wanting their own blog included. I encourage and am happy to respond to queries but have prepared a list of frequently asked questions (FAQs) people can check out. Have a look at NZ Blog Rankings FAQ. This is particularly helpful to those wondering how to set up sitemeters. Please note, the system is automatic and relies on blogs having sitemeters which allow public access to the stats.
Here are the rankings of New Zealand blogs with publicly available statistics for January 2021. Ranking is by visit numbers. I have listed the blogs in the table below, together with monthly visits and page view numbers. Meanwhile, I am still keen to hear of any other blogs with publicly available sitemeter or visitor stats that I have missed. Contact me if you know of any or wish help adding publicly available stats to your bog.
You can see data for previous months at Blog Ranks
I think this comparison should have been made clear in the review because it is important but is most often overlooked because opponents of fluoridation, and the study’s authors, never consider it. They remain silent about the facts in this table. This is hypocritical considering the attempts anti-fluoridation critics made to discredit the same finding reported by Broadbent et al (2015) when their paper was published.
Open Parachute 