Objective To assess the safety of long-term drinking desalinated seawater for island residents, and reveal the prevalence of chronic diseases in populations consuming desalinated seawater.
Methods Residents drinking desalinated seawater in Caiyuan Township of Shengsi County were selected as observation group, and residents drinking water from local reservoir and other water sources as control group. Prevalence rates of selected chronic diseases and their changes over time were retrieved from local residents' electronic health record system.
Results The prevalence rate of hypertension was 16.87% for the desalinated seawater group, 10.90% for the mixed water sources group, and 9.52% for the fresh water group. The prevalence rates of coronary heart disease of residents of the above three groups were 3.50%, 1.37%, and 0.67%, respectively; the prevalence rates of chronic diseases were 10.68%, 10.54%, and 17.10%, respectively; and the 5-year incidence rates of chronic diseases were 3.92%, 5.98%, and 8.90%, respectively. Statistical differences of hypertension prevalence rate were identified (χ2=14.571, P=0.001), so were the coronary heart disease (χ2=10.775, P=0.005), chronic diseases (χ2=12.387, P=0.002), and 5-year incidence rate of chronic diseases (χ2=13.779, P=0.001) in those three groups.
Conclusion Relationship between residents' long-term desalinated seawater consumption and chronic disease occurrence should not be identified.
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