SynthesisBMJ global health2025
Association of drinking water salinity with elevated blood pressure and risk of hypertension among coastal and other populations: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies.
Synthesis in BMJ global health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
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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.
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Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Connecting ocean, sky, humanity and planetary health and well-being.Nature reviews. Nephrology · 2026Article
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Authors and funding
10 authors.
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Abstract
backgroundThe link between drinking water salinity and increased blood pressure and hypertension risk among coastal and other populations remains unclear. To investigate this, we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies on drinking water salinity and cardiovascular outcomes.
methodsWe systematically searched MEDLINE, Embase and Web of Science for relevant studies published until 10 May 2025. Observational studies reporting on the association between sodium in drinking water and systolic/diastolic blood pressure (SBP/DBP), hypertension, coronary heart disease (CHD), stroke and composite cardiovascular outcomes were prespecified to be included. We assessed study quality using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale and performed random effects meta-analysis.
resultsWe identified 27 observational studies (involving 74 063 unique participants from 7 countries), 15 of which included coastal populations. Comparing higher versus lower drinking water salinity, the mean differences were 3.22 mm Hg (95% CI 1.11 to 5.33) for SBP and 2.82 mm Hg (95% CI 1.44 to 4.20) for DBP. The pooled OR for hypertension, comparing higher versus lower water salinity, was 1.26 (95% CI 1.07 to 1.48). These associations were generally consistent across subgroups but were statistically significant for studies conducted in coastal populations and for those published after 2000. However, we found an insufficient number of studies with reliable data on CHD or stroke outcomes.
conclusionsHigher drinking water salinity is associated with an elevated risk of blood pressure and hypertension, especially among coastal populations. More research is needed to examine connections with CHD and stroke, and to create strategies to counter salinity's effects, particularly in climate-vulnerable coastal areas.
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