Citation

Ohgami H, Terao T, Shiotsuki I, Ishii N, Iwata N. Br. J. Psychiatry 2009; 194(5): 464-5; discussion 446.

Affiliation

Department of Neuropsychiatry, Oita University, Oita 879-5593, Japan.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2009, Royal College of Psychiatry)

DOI

10.1192/bjp.bp.108.055798

PMID

19407280

Abstract

Although lithium is known to prevent suicide in people with mood disorders, it is uncertain whether lithium in drinking water could also help lower the risk in the general population. To investigate this, we examined lithium levels in tap water in the 18 municipalities of Oita prefecture in Japan in relation to the suicide standardised mortality ratio (SMR) in each municipality. We found that lithium levels were significantly and negatively associated with SMR averages for 2002-2006. These findings suggest that even very low levels of lithium in drinking water may play a role in reducing suicide risk within the general population.

Language: en