the leading preventable cause of premature death worldwide, affecting more than 1.3 billion people globally and 116.4 million Americans.
The analysis pooled data from two studies following participants in several communities in coastal Bangladesh, during both dry and monsoon seasons when the amount of salinity in the water fluctuated.
It found those who drank mildly salinated water had average systolic blood pressure levels 1.55 mmHg lower than those who drank freshwater. Their average diastolic blood pressure levels were 1.26 mmHg lower. Systolic is the top number in the blood pressure measurement and diastolic is the bottom number.
By testing urine samples, researchers determined those with lower blood pressure also had higher levels of calcium and magnesium in their system, which they attributed to drinking the salinated water.
The reduction in blood pressure was small but significant, and worthy of further exploration, said Dr. Robert M. Carey, a professor of medicine at the University of Virginia who
