Lithium in Drinking Water and Incidence of Suicide: A Nationwide Individual-Level Cohort Study with 22 Years of Follow-Up

Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS), Department of Groundwater and Quaternary Geology Mapping, C.F. Møllers Allé 8, Aarhus, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark

Department of Public Health, Aarhus University, Bartholins Allé 2, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark

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National Centre for Register-Based Research, Aarhus University, Fuglesangs Allé 4, 8210 Aarhus, Denmark

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Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS), Hydrological Department, Øster Voldgade 10, 1350 Copenhagen, Denmark

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Department of Geoscience, Aarhus University, Høegh-Guldbergs Gade 2, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark

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Current affiliation (DDV): Department of Geography, National University of Singapore, AS2, #03-01, 1 Arts Link, Kent Ridge, 117570 Singapore, Singapore

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Section of Biostatistics, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Øster Farimagsgade 5, 1014 Copenhagen, Denmark

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Psychiatric Center Copenhagen, Rigshospitalet, University Hospital of Copenhagen, Blegdamsvej 9, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

^†

Shared Last Authorship.

Academic Editor: Paul B. Tchounwou

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2017, 14(6), 627; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14060627

Received: 29 April 2017 / Revised: 28 May 2017 / Accepted: 6 June 2017 / Published: 10 June 2017

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Proceedings from the 3rd International Symposium on Environment and Health)

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Abstract

Suicide is a major public health concern. High-dose lithium is used to stabilize mood and prevent suicide in patients with affective disorders. Lithium occurs naturally in drinking water worldwide in much lower doses, but with large geographical variation. Several studies conducted at an aggregate level have suggested an association between lithium in drinking water and a reduced risk of suicide; however, a causal relation is uncertain. Individual-level register-based data on the entire Danish adult population (3.7 million individuals) from 1991 to 2012 were linked with a moving five-year time-weighted average (TWA) lithium exposure level from drinking water hypothesizing an inverse relationship. The mean lithium level was 11.6 μg/L ranging from 0.6 to 30.7 μg/L. The suicide rate decreased from 29.7 per 100,000 person-years at risk in 1991 to 18.4 per 100,000 person-years in 2012. We found no significant indication of an association between increasing five-year TWA lithium exposure level and decreasing suicide rate. The comprehensiveness of using individual-level data and spatial analyses with 22 years of follow-up makes a pronounced contribution to previous findings. Our findings demonstrate that there does not seem to be a protective effect of exposure to lithium on the incidence of suicide with levels below 31 μg/L in drinking water. View Full-Text

Keywords: drinking water; lithium; suicide; individual-level data; spatial analysis; Denmark; exposure assessment

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MDPI and ACS Style

Knudsen, N.N.; Schullehner, J.; Hansen, B.; Jørgensen, L.F.; Kristiansen, S.M.; Voutchkova, D.D.; Gerds, T.A.; Andersen, P.K.; Bihrmann, K.; Grønbæk, M.; Kessing, L.V.; Ersbøll, A.K. Lithium in Drinking Water and Incidence of Suicide: A Nationwide Individual-Level Cohort Study with 22 Years of Follow-Up. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2017, 14, 627. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14060627

AMA Style

Knudsen NN, Schullehner J, Hansen B, Jørgensen LF, Kristiansen SM, Voutchkova DD, Gerds TA, Andersen PK, Bihrmann K, Grønbæk M, Kessing LV, Ersbøll AK. Lithium in Drinking Water and Incidence of Suicide: A Nationwide Individual-Level Cohort Study with 22 Years of Follow-Up. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2017; 14(6):627. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14060627

Chicago/Turabian Style

Knudsen, Nikoline N., Jörg Schullehner, Birgitte Hansen, Lisbeth F. Jørgensen, Søren M. Kristiansen, Denitza D. Voutchkova, Thomas A. Gerds, Per K. Andersen, Kristine Bihrmann, Morten Grønbæk, Lars V. Kessing, and Annette K. Ersbøll. 2017. "Lithium in Drinking Water and Incidence of Suicide: A Nationwide Individual-Level Cohort Study with 22 Years of Follow-Up" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 14, no. 6: 627. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14060627

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Lithium in Drinking Water and Incidence of Suicide: A Nationwide Individual-Level Cohort Study with 22 Years of Follow-Up

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