Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36079045›Full record

ArticleJournal of clinical medicine2022

Variation in Tap Water Mineral Content in the United Kingdom: Is It Relevant for Kidney Stone Disease?

Kirolos G F T Michael, Bhaskar K Somani

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of clinical medicine, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
1.5field-weighted citation impact, top 16% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

8 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 13 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Guideline
  2. British Dietetic Association Guidelines for the Dietary Management of Chronic Constipation in Adults.Journal of human nutrition and dietetics : the official journal of the British Dietetic Association · 2025
    Guideline
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Kirolos G F T MichaelNorthern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust, Salford M6 8HD, UK.
Bhaskar K SomaniDepartment of Urology, University Hospital Southampton, Southampton SO16 6YD, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-6248-6478
Northern Health and Social Care Trust · GBUniversity Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust · GB

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Introduction: The dissolved mineral content of drinking water can modify a number of excreted urinary parameters, with potential implications for kidney stone disease (KSD). The aim of this study is to investigate the variation in the mineral content of tap drinking water in the United Kingdom and discuss its implications for KSD. Methods: The mineral composition of tap water from cities across the United Kingdom was ascertained from publicly available water quality reports issued by local water supply companies using civic centre postcodes during 2021. Water variables, reported as 12-monthly average values, included total water hardness and concentrations of calcium, magnesium, sodium and sulphate. An unpaired t-test was undertaken to assess for regional differences in water composition across the United Kingdom. Results: Water composition data were available for 66 out of 76 cities in the United Kingdom: 45 in England, 8 in Scotland, 7 in Wales and 6 in Northern Ireland. The median water hardness in the United Kingdom was 120.59 mg/L CaCO3 equivalent (range 16.02−331.50), while the median concentrations of calcium, magnesium, sodium and sulphate were 30.46 mg/L (range 5.35−128.0), 3.62 mg/L (range 0.59−31.80), 14.72 mg/L (range 2.98−57.80) and 25.36 mg/L (range 2.86−112.43), respectively. Tap water in England was markedly harder than in Scotland (192.90 mg/L vs. 32.87 mg/L as CaCO3 equivalent; p < 0.001), which overall had the softest tap water with the lowest mineral content in the United Kingdom. Within England, the North West had the softest tap water, while the South East had the hardest water (70.00 mg/L vs. 285.75 mg/L as CaCO3 equivalent). Conclusions: Tap water mineral content varies significantly across the United Kingdom. Depending on where one lives, drinking 2−3 L of tap water can contribute over one-third of recommended daily calcium and magnesium requirements, with possible implications for KSD incidence and recurrence.

Indexed as

kidney calculikidney stonesmineral compositiontap waterurolithiasis

Identifiers

PMID36079045
PMCPMC9457372
OpenAlexW4293773186

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.