Autism Diagnosis Risk Strongly Correlates With The Amount Of lithium In Drinking Water

Scientists believe that higher lithium concentrations in domestic tap water consumed by expectant mothers could have an impact on a crucial molecular pathway involved in neurodevelopment and autism, raising the likelihood that offspring will acquire autism spectrum disorder.

“Human actions such as increased lithium battery use and disposal in landfills, which could cause groundwater contamination, could raise lithium levels in water in the future”, researchers said.

The researchers from the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) Health in the United States also stated that the findings of their study, which were based on data from Denmark, should be replicated in other populations and regions around the globe.

Their findings were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Pediatrics.

“Any drinking water contaminants that may affect the developing human brain deserve close scrutiny”, said lead study author Beate Ritz, a UCLA Health professor of neurology.

Lithium compounds have long been used in the treatment of depression and bipolar disorders due to their mood-stabilizing effects.

However, there is debate about the safety of lithium consumption by pregnant mothers, owing to mounting evidence linking it to an increased risk of miscarriage and cardiac anomalies or defects in newborns.

Ritz discovered experimental research indicating that lithium, one of several naturally occurring metals commonly found in water, could influence an important molecular pathway involved in neurodevelopment and autism.

According to Zeyan Liew, the first author of the study and assistant professor at Yale University School of Public Health in the United States, “this study built on previous findings from Denmark’s high-quality medical registry data that ingestion of chronic and low-dose lithium from drinking can influence the occurrence of adult-onset neuropsychiatric disorders”.

The researchers identified children born between 1997 and 2013 by analyzing lithium levels in 151 public waterworks in Denmark and using a nationwide database of patients with psychiatric disorders. They then compared 12,799 autistic children to 63,681 children who did not have an autism diagnosis.

According to the findings, the risk of being diagnosed with autism varied directly with lithium levels.

Scientists discovered that the second and third quartiles of lithium levels were associated with a 24-26 percent higher risk of autism by dividing the levels into quartiles, or four parts with each having a quarter of the values.

The risk was found to be 46 percent higher in the highest quartile than in the lowest quartile.

Scientists also discovered that the association was slightly stronger in urban areas compared to smaller towns and rural areas.

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