Water sodium, hypertension and mortality

In order to test the hypothesis that sodium-rich drinking water may cause increased mortality from hypertension and its consequences, some communities supplied with such water were identified and their mortality experience examined. Apart from a slight excess in mortality from cardiovascular causes in a population in North Lindsey subsequent to the artificial softening of their water supply, the mortality experience of these populations was lower than that expected had they experienced the same age- and cause-specific rates as England and Wales. We found no evidence that levels of sodium in drinking water below 250 mg/1 lead to any increase in mortality in adults.