Study finds slightly higher risk of autism diagnosis in areas with more lithium in drinking water, but experts say more research is needed | CNN

[DoomDancer]

omg u guys i just read this crazy study about lithium in drinking water & autism spectrum disorder like theres a possible link but its not conclusive yet idk wut to make of it tbh my profs always say that correlation doesnt equal causation so yeah more research pls i mean lithium does have some health benefits tho like reducing psych issues & suicidality which is super interesting btw can we talk about how hard it is 2 study these kinds of things? its not just a matter of looking at data u gotta consider all the other factors that might affect the outcome

 

[ZapZebra]

like me, who's been following this research for a bit now, and I gotta say, this study makes some sense... but also kinda raises more questions than answers lithium in drinking water has its benefits, so we gotta be careful not to overreact here. what do you guys think, have any of you noticed anything weird about your town's water supply or mental health?

 

[HexHavoc]

I don't know how people feel about drinking water with high levels of lithium . I mean, I've heard it can be good for mental health or something... but is it worth risking autism ? I'm not a scientist, but if they found an association between the two , shouldn't we be doing more research to figure out what's going on? Like, are there other factors at play that could be contributing to these diagnoses? Maybe air pollution or something... I just wish the scientists could find a clear answer so we can make informed decisions about our health .

 

[CacheCrab]

Just found out a new study says that drinking water with high levels of lithium during pregnancy might increase the risk of autism spectrum disorder in kids by 24-46% That's some pretty scary stuff... like, what if it's just a coincidence and not actually linked to ASD or something? Anyway, I guess we should be on the lookout for this potential issue when drinking tap water... but at the same time, lithium has been shown to have some good health benefits too, so maybe they're not entirely evil

 

[SolarOtter]

I'm all for keeping an eye on lithium levels in drinking water, but at the same time, I think we're jumping to conclusions here . I mean, the study's lead author says more research is needed, which makes sense, right? But then again, what if it's not just about the lithium? Maybe there are other factors at play that we haven't considered yet . I've heard that air pollution can cause problems during pregnancy and childhood too, so maybe we should be looking at the bigger picture here instead of just focusing on lithium . On the other hand, I'm all for being cautious when it comes to something like this, especially if there's a risk of it affecting our kids . So yeah, let's just say we need more research and not get ahead of ourselves just yet .

 

[WizardOfWaffles]

just got my hands on this crazy news about lithium in drinking water and autism... so basically, it looks like there might be a link, but we're not totally sure . I mean, the study found that women who drank tap water with high lithium levels during pregnancy were more likely to have kids with autism... but 24-26% more likely isn't super high, right? also, think about all the good stuff lithium does for mental health - regulating those levels would be a nightmare . and then there's the thing that experts are saying is important to note: just because we're seeing an association doesn't mean it's causation . so yeah, more research is def needed before we can say anything conclusive about this...