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Lithium in drinking water and crime rates in Japan: cross-sectional study
Kentaro Kohno1, Nobuyoshi Ishii1, Hirofumi Hirakawa1
1Department of Neuropsychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Oita University,Yufu City, Japan.
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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