--- title: "Let’s Talk About That Study Linking Autism and Lithium in the Water" description: "So there's a new study that just dropped linking autism with naturally-occurring lithium in the water supply — but as always, there are some major caveats. " date: "2023-04-04" modified: "2023-04-04" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/autism-lithium-water-study" categories: - "Health & Medicine" - "Studies" tags: - "autism" - "health" - "lithium" - "research" --- # Let’s Talk About That Study Linking Autism and Lithium in the Water ![So there's a new study that just dropped linking autism with naturally-occurring lithium in the water supply — but as always, there are some major caveats. ]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* So there's a new study linking autism with naturally-occurring lithium in the drinking water supply — but there are some major caveats. Published [in the *Journal of the American Medical Association* *Pediatrics*](), the paper out of the University of Los Angeles looked at data from Denmark and found a correlation between pregnant people drinking water that contains higher levels of lithium and a "moderately higher risk" — up to 46 percent — of having children who were later diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), per a [press release](). On its face, that's pretty interesting. But the topic of potential causes for autism is a particularly fraught one. Studies about [potential causes for autism]() crop up [every once in a while](), but the general psychiatric consensus remains that, like depression, [nobody knows exactly what might cause ASD](). And because of a [single and demonstrably falsified study]() published by *The Lancet*, a broad swathe of the public is primed to take work like this out of context. So let's dive deeper. For one thing, experts are intrigued by the findings, but they're also urging caution. "It’s an interesting association," Dr. Max Wiznitzer, who directs the Rainbow Autism Center at the University Hospitals Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital in Cleveland, [told *CNN*]()*,* "but causation is definitely not proven." This is a good point. Just because there's a correlation between two things doesn't mean that one of them causes the other one. The classic example is that you can [easily look at real-world data]() and conclude that there's a strong association between ice cream sales and drowning. Does that mean that ice cream causes drowning? Of course not — it's that people swim more *and* eat more ice cream in the summer. And that's not the only thing that jumped out at Wiznitzer. "We have to see if there’s a viable and biologically plausible mechanism by which a small amount of lithium in the water supply can somehow do this, yet pharmacologic dosing of lithium in women with bipolar disorder has not been reported to be causing increased risk of ASD," Wiznitzer, who was not involved in the research, told *CNN*. This is another compelling critique. If there was *really* a causal link between lithium consumption by mothers and ASD in their kids, it would almost certainly already be clear from decades of data involving mothers who were taking lithium as medication, as many people still do. Why would low, naturally-occurring doses have an effect when higher medical doses appear to have none? What's more, the study didn't involve any original bloodwork or medical examination, but rather relied solely on existing data that [every Danish citizen is required to provide by law](). That sort of data can be an important tool for establishing an initial link, but it's hardly enough to throw out what doctors currently believe about ASD. And finally, the research just looked at a single European country, which is both [very small]() and [quite wealthy](). So is it an interesting finding? Certainly. But it's definitely not a smoking gun, even if some in the [culture war]() around potential causes for ASD will take it that way. As always, more research is needed. And it's also worth listening to disability activists who say [autism shouldn't necessarily be pathologized]() as a [debilitating disease](), but rather as a reality that a lot of people live rich lives with. **More on research:** [*High Blood Pressure May Cause Dementia, Scientists Say*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()