Vienna (dpa) - Small amounts of natural lithium in drinking water
lowers suicide rates, Austrian scientists said in a study presented
by the Medical University of Vienna on Wednesday.
Lithium has been used for several decades for treating mental
illness, including depression.
The team of medical researchers compared lithium levels in water
with suicide rates in all 99 Austrian districts and found a
significant correlation between the two factors.
The statistical relationship was significant even after taking
into account factors such as income and availability of community
health services, which are known to influence suicide numbers.
Japanese scientists had reached similar conclusions in 2009, but
their work was criticized for methodical shortcomings, the Medical
University said in a statement.
Nestor Kapusta, the lead scientist of the Austrian study, said he
was surprised that these trace amounts of lithium have an effect.
"Dosage in therapy is around 100 times higher than the natural
level in drinking water," he said.
But Kapusta warned against enriching water with lithium to prevent
suicides. Broad studies and analyses of side effects were needed
first, he said.
Lithium must not be seen as a cure-all in suicide prevention, the
study authors stressed. Instead, they advocated a mix of measures
such as improving health services, education of the public and gun
control.
The report was published in the British Journal of Psychiatry.
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