title: Low-dose lithium uptake promotes longevity in humans and metazoans.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Lithium is a nutritionally essential trace element predominantly contained in vegetables, plant-derived foods, and drinking water. Environmental lithium exposure and concurrent nutritional intake vary considerably in different regions. We here have analyzed the possibility that low-dose lithium exposure may affect mortality in both metazoans and mammals.
  
  
  METHODS
  Based on a large Japanese observational cohort, we have used weighted regression analysis to identify putative effects of tap water-derived lithium uptake on overall mortality. Independently, we have exposed Caenorhabditis elegans, a small roundworm commonly used for anti-aging studies, to comparable concentrations of lithium, and have quantified mortality during this intervention.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In humans, we find here an inverse correlation between drinking water lithium concentrations and all-cause mortality in 18 neighboring Japanese municipalities with a total of 1,206,174 individuals (β = -0.661, p = 0.003). Consistently, we find that exposure to a comparably low concentration of lithium chloride extends life span of C. elegans (p = 0.047).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Taken together, these findings indicate that long-term low-dose exposure to lithium may exert anti-aging capabilities and unambiguously decreases mortality in evolutionary distinct species.
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Nutrition, Institute of Nutrition, University of Jena, Germany.
authors.forename: Kim
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Zarse
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Terao
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tian
authors.forename: Noboru
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Iwata
authors.forename: Nobuyoshi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ishii
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ristow
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging; D000818:Animals; D044466:Asian People; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000502:physiology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D060766:Drinking Water / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D006801:Humans; D008094:Lithium / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000032:analysis / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D008136:Longevity; D023421:Models, Animal; D009026:Mortality; D012044:Regression Analysis; D014131:Trace Elements / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D060766:Drinking Water; D014131:Trace Elements; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D008094:Lithium