Lithium in drinking water and suicide rates across the East of England

Lithium can be found naturally in drinking water. In clinical practice, it is widely used in pharmacological doses for the treatment of bipolar disorder; and may also prevent suicidal behaviour in people with mood disorders. In two studies, lithium levels in tap water have been significantly and neg...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inBritish journal of psychiatry Vol. 198; no. 5; pp. 406 - 407
Main Authors Kabacs, Nikolett, Memon, Anjum, Obinwa, Thom, Stochl, Jan, Perez, Jesus
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Cambridge, UK Cambridge University Press 01.05.2011
Subjects
Adult
Affective disorders
Antidepressive Agents - therapeutic use
Drinking water
England
England - epidemiology
Female
Humans
Lithium
Lithium - analysis
Male
Mood Disorders - drug therapy
Mortality
Short report
Suicide
Suicide - statistics & numerical data
Suicide - trends
Water Supply - analysis
England
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Summary:Lithium can be found naturally in drinking water. In clinical practice, it is widely used in pharmacological doses for the treatment of bipolar disorder; and may also prevent suicidal behaviour in people with mood disorders. In two studies, lithium levels in tap water have been significantly and negatively correlated with suicide. We measured lithium levels in tap water in the 47 subdivisions of the East of England and correlated these with the respective suicide standardised mortality ratio in each subdivision. We found no association between lithium in drinking water and suicide rates across the East of England from 2006 to 2008.
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ISSN:0007-1250
1472-1465
DOI:10.1192/bjp.bp.110.088617