Lithium in drinking water in Andean villages could affect thyroid function, research suggests
Tuesday, April 5, 2011 - 10:30
in Health & Medicine
Lithium is an element used in batteries and also for medication, as an established and common treatment for bipolar disorder. Swedish researchers have now found that women in four mountain villages in Argentinean Andes Mountains ingest so much lithium via the groundwater that this could affect thyroid function, causing so-called hypothyroidism. This is a metabolic disorder which gives rise to weight gain, fatigue, depression, sensitivity to cold and memory loss.