Consumption of very low-mineral water may threaten cardiovascular health by increasing homocysteine in children

Abstract

IntroductionHomocysteine (Hcy) is a critical factor for cardiovascular injury, and the elevation of Hcy in children will inevitably increase the risk of cardiovascular disease in adulthood. This study explored the effect of very low-mineral water on children’s Hcy and cardiovascular health.Materials and methodsThis was a retrospective cohort study that recruited two groups of 10–13-year-old children who had consumed direct drinking water (DDW) in school for 4 years. The control group (NW) (119 boys, 110 girls) consumed normal DDW (conductivity 345 μs/cm). The very low-mineral water consumption group (VLW) (223 boys, 208 girls) consumed very low-mineral DDW (conductivity 40.0 μs/cm). Serum Hcy, Hcy metabolites, cofactors of Hcy metabolism, and cardiovascular biomarkers were assessed and standardized by age- and sex-specific Z-scores, and the differences between the two groups were analyzed with independent t-test. The relationships between Hcy metabolism biomarkers and key factors, cardiovascular biomarkers, serum Ca, and mineral intake were analyzed with linear regression.ResultsCompared with the NW group, the VLW group had significantly higher serum Hcy, Apo-B, Apo-B/A1, and oxLDL, and lower serum 1,25,(OH)2D3, vitamin B6 and B12, 5-methyltetrahydrofolate, and Apo-A1. Serum Hcy was positively associated with serum Apo-B and Apo-B/A1, and negatively associated with Ca intake from water and serum 1,25,(OH)2D3.ConclusionThis study suggested that drinking very low-mineral water may increase Hcy level and oxidative stress, worsen lipid profile, and threaten the cardiovascular system in children. Reducing 1,25,(OH)2D3, and disordering of calcium metabolism might play important roles. This study first established an association between demineralized drinking water and cardiovascular health in children, suggesting a new environmental concern risk to cardiovascular health.

Beneficial Effects of Geological Materials: With Africa Case Descriptions

“…Some have expressed health concerns regarding the use of bottled mineral waters (due to plasticizers and endocrine disruptors); but much of the research in this area has been devoted to their properties and their role in amelioration of different physiological and pathological conditions (e.g., Quattrini et al, 2017;Sunardi et al, 2022;Dobosy et al, 2023;Huang et al, 2023;Pop et al, 2023). There is room for more research in this area.…”

Assessment of Health and Well-Being Effects Associated With the Challenging Drinking Water Situation in the Gaza Strip: Protocol for a Cross-Sectional Household Survey Study (Preprint)

“…Additionally, low mineral content in drinking water, such as calcium and magnesium, has been found to have various adverse health impacts. Associated health risks include an increased risk of cardiovascular disease [18][19][20][21][22][23], caries [24,25], osteoporosis [26,27] and potentially various cancers [28][29][30][31][32][33]. This could be relevant in the Gaza Strip because of the high consumption of desalinated water [4].…”