There’s no single known cause for autism (自闭症), but researchers now point the finger at higher lithium (锂) levels in drinking water. Their new study found that pregnant women in Denmark whose household tap water had higher levels of lithium were more likely to have kids with autism, compared to pregnant women living in areas where tap water had lower levels of this element.
“Maternal prenatal (妊娠期) exposure to lithium from naturally occurring drinking water sources in Denmark was associated with an increased autism spectrum disorder risk in the offspring,” said study author Dr. Beate Ritz, a professor of neurology. “This suggests a potential fetal neurotoxicity (神经毒性) of lithium exposure from drinking water that needs to be further investigated.”
For this latest study, researchers analyzed lithium levels from about half of the country’s water supply. When the investigators compared children with autism to those without this developmental disorder, they found that when lithium levels increased, so did the risk of autism.
Kids born to moms who lived in areas with the highest lithium levels in the water were 46% more likely to be diagnosed with autism than those born in areas with the lowest amount of lithium in drinking water, the study showed. Lithium levels increased the risk for all types of autism in this study.
Lithium leaches into drinking water from soil and rocks, but these levels could rise in the future from waste in lithium batteries. While more research is needed to confirm this association, Ritz suggested using filtered water and testing it for lithium levels while pregnant. Bottled water isn’t necessarily the answer. “A lot of bottled water is not tested either,” she said. “Some bottled water is just filled up from regular drinking water sources.”
Dr. Max Wiznitzer, director of the Rainbow Autism Center, urged caution before jumping to conclusions, though. “It’s an interesting association, but causation is definitely not proven,” Wiznitzer told CNN. “We have to see if there’s a workable and biologically plausible (似乎合理的) mechanism by which a small amount of lithium in the water supply can somehow do this, yet pharmacologic (药理学) dosing of lithium in women with bipolar disorder has not been reported to be causing increased risk of ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder).”
【小题1】What might cause women in Denmark to have kids with autism?| A．Lower levels of lithium in tap water. | B．Higher lithium levels in drinking water. |
| C．Maternal prenatal exposure to neurotoxicity. | D．Naturally occurring drinking water sources. |
| A．The risk of autism declined with lithium levels increasing. |
| B．Lithium in drinking water mainly came from lithium batteries. |
| C．Kids were 46% more likely to be diagnosed with autism than moms. |
| D．Bottled water could not be always safely used for its lack of filtering and testing. |
| A．Favourable. | B．Shocked. | C．Cautious. | D．Indifferent. |
| A．Lithium in Water Supply Linked to Uptick in Autism Risk |
| B．Lithium in Drinking Water Did Harm to Mental Health |
| C．Lithium in Drinking Water Decreased the Risk of ASD |
| D．Lithium in Water Supply Linked to the Chance of Pregnancy |
