Cohort study of estimated lithium exposure in drinking water and cancer risk in the United States
Dr. Briseis Aschebrook-Kilfoy
Lithium is a naturally occurring element in drinking water. Clinical studies have reported associations between receiving lithium treatment and reduced cancer risk among patients with bipolar disorder, but the association between environmental lithium exposure and cancer risk has never been studied in the general population. A cohort study of 252,178 individuals from the All of Us Research Program has now been published. In this cohort study, higher lithium exposure in drinking groundwater was associated with reduced risk of all cancer types investigated overall and stratified by females and males. The authors conclude that exposure to a higher estimated lithium level in drinking water may be associated with lower incidence of cancers.
