Blood Lead Levels and Major Depressive Disorder, Panic Disorder, and Generalized Anxiety Disorder – It appears lead may cause, or greatly increase the risk of developing depression and/or panic disorder: “Persons with blood lead levels in the highest quintile had 2.3 times the odds of major depressive disorder (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.13-4.75) and 4.9 times the odds of panic disorder (1.32-18.48) as those in the lowest quintile. Cigarette smoking was associated with higher blood lead levels and outcome, but models that excluded current smokers also resulted in significantly increased odds of major depression (P = .03 for trend) and panic disorder (P = .01 for trend) with higher blood lead quintiles.”
Hmmm. Filtered water for the win? I have read elsewhere that certain water sources have higher levels of led than is truly safe. Though, I must admit, I’ve not personally taken the plunge to getting any fancy-smancy new-fangled water filtration. It’s on the to-do list. I know the simple brita filters aren’t *enough* in some respects.
