Geographical areas where the tap water has higher natural concentrations of lithium have lower suicide rates, according to a new study published in the British Journal of Psychiatry.
Researchers from the Medical University of Vienna analyzed 6,460 samples of drinking water across 99 regions, comparing the natural levels of lithium with the area’s suicide rate.
In those areas where the levels of lithium were lowest, there were 16 cases of suicide for every 100,000 people. The areas with the highest concentrations of lithium had only 11 cases of suicide for the same number of people.
The findings have some scientists proposing that trace amounts of lithium could be added to public drinking water as a benefit to mental health, not unlike how many cities add fluoride to help keep teeth strong.
"The theory is that lithium in trace amounts enhances the connectivity among neurons and having exposure over a lifetime makes the brain more happy," Jacob Appel, a doctor at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, told the Daily Mail.