Municipal drinking water and cardiovascular death rates

Abstract

The association of the degree of softness of municipal water and death rates from hypertensive and arteriosclerotic heart diseases, demonstrated for 1949 to 1951 rates, persisted in 1960. Statistical analyses of death rates from 88 cities of the United States with levels of bulk and trace elements in municipal water supplies showed negative correlations for 12 major and 4 trace constituents. The purer the water in terms of dissolved elements, the higher was the death rate from this cause. No trace element of 19 measured was found highly correlated. One possible explanation of this phenomenon involves the corrosive quality of soft water for metal pipes in dwellings.