Lithium in drinking water and crime rates in Japan: cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: In pharmacological doses, lithium successfully treats bipolar disorder and it can reduce violent crimes committed by individuals with this disorder. AIMS: To investigate whether naturally occurring lithium in drinking water lowers rates of violent crime in the general population. METHOD:...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Kohno, Kentaro, Ishii, Nobuyoshi, Hirakawa, Hirofumi, Terao, Takeshi
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Cambridge University Press 2020
Materias:
Papers
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7576670/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33054891
http://dx.doi.org/10.1192/bjo.2020.63
Descripción
Sumario:BACKGROUND: In pharmacological doses, lithium successfully treats bipolar disorder and it can reduce violent crimes committed by individuals with this disorder. AIMS: To investigate whether naturally occurring lithium in drinking water lowers rates of violent crime in the general population. METHOD: We examined lithium levels in the drinking water of the 274 municipalities of Kyushu Island in Japan and compared these with the crime rates in each municipality. RESULTS: We found that lithium levels were significantly and inversely associated with crime rates in 2009. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that even very low levels of lithium in drinking water may play a role in reducing crime rates in the general population.

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