People with higher levels of lithium in their drinking water have a lower risk of developing dementia, new research suggests.
Lithium – currently used as a drug to treat bipolar disorder – is a natural metal also found in tap water, although the amount varies from area to area.
The findings could mean it could be added to drinking water to protect our brains in the same way that fluoride is to protect our teeth, say the researchers.
The study, based on an analysis of 800,000 people in Denmark, is the first of its kind to make the link.
The researchers, writing in the journal JAMA Psychiatry, said: ‘This is the first study, to our knowledge, to investigate the association between lithium in drinking water and the incidence of dementia.
‘Higher long-term lithium exposure from drinking water may be associated with a lower incidence of dementia.’