Water hardness and cardiovascular disease
1980
Abstract: Epidemiological evidence from large geographical areas seems to indicate that hard drinking water (the sum of polyvalent cations) is correlated with low cardiovascular disease rates. The correlation does not hold for smaller areas. Since some noncardiovascular ailments are associated with soft water, the risk factor may be a more basic one. Studies to date have reported almost exclusively on correlation statistics and not on effects of exposure to varying levels of soft or hard water. Autopsy reports from Canada and the U.K. have revealed a pattern of low magnesium levels in tissues of myocardial infarction victims. This insufficient evidence does not warrant passage of a national policy to modify water supplies, although communities that soften their water supplies should consider methods that do not raise the water's sodium content. Suggestions for further research include controlled trials of magnesium supplementation, tissue mineral analysis after autopsy, and epidemiological studies controlled for other risk factors and differences. (cj)
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