JAMA psychiatry: improving lithium content in tap water helps prevent dementia

A new study conducted by scientists from the University of Copenhagen in Denmark shows that increasing lithium content in tap water can help people prevent dementia, and adding lithium to tap water as a cheap way to prevent dementia is worth studying Lithium is a kind of silver white metal element Tap water generally contains trace lithium element, which varies greatly in different countries and regions Previous studies have shown that lithium is an emotional stabilizer, and a small intake of lithium can help prolong life The relationship between lithium in drinking water and overall dementia rate (source: JAMA Psychiatry), a scientist from University of Copenhagen in Denmark reported in the new issue of JAMA Psychiatry monthly that they compared the incidence rate of dementia in some areas of Denmark with the natural tap water content in these areas The tap water lithium incidence rate can significantly reduce the risk of dementia, but the tap water lithium content in the middle area is higher than that in the lowest lithium area Specifically, the incidence rate of dementia in lithium per liter is higher than 15 micrograms in 17% grams, but the lithium content in liters is increased by 22% from 5.1 micrograms to 10 micrograms per liter of tap water with lithium content below 5 micrograms Alan young, a professor at the Institute of psychiatry at King's College London, said the study was consistent with past evidence that lithium in the environment may be beneficial to human health and may prevent dementia "Even if lithium only delays everyone's onset of dementia for a few months, at the national level, it will win several months of healthy time," he said According to David Smith, a pharmacologist at the University of Oxford in the UK, the link between lithium levels in drinking water and confirmed cases of dementia is significant, but not linear, and lithium should not be added to tap water without knowing the optimal dose Paper link: http://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/2649277