High Tungsten Levels Double Stroke Risk: The Dangers of Metals

Metals in the environment can cause a host of problems for the organisms living in it. Now, though, researchers found a little bit more about tungsten, the metal found largely in electronics. They've discovered that high levels of tungsten in the body could double the risk of suffering a stroke.

Stroke is currently the second leading cause of death in the Western world, according to figures from the World Health Organization. It's ranked only second to heart disease and is also the lead cause of disability in adults. It can result in the loss of motor control, urinary incontinence, depression and memory loss.

In order to get a better look at how this metal might impact health, the researchers looked at the U.S. based National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). The researchers analyzed information for 8,614 participants between the ages of 18 and 74 during a 12 year period. In the end, they found that higher tungsten levels were strongly associated with an increase in the prevalence of stroke, independent of typical risk factors. More importantly, they discovered that tungsten could be a significant risk factor for stroke in people under the age of 50.

Although our current exposure to tungsten is thought to be very low, recent years have seen a significant increase in the demand and supply of the material. Commonly used in mobile phones and computers, tungsten could leech into the environment during its production and thus impact human populations. This makes understanding the health consequences of tungsten exposure important.

"The relationships we're seeing between tungsten and stroke may only be the tip of the iceberg," said Nicholas Osborne, one of the researchers, in a news release. "As numerous new substances make their way into the environment, we're accumulating a complex 'chemical cocktail' in our bodies. Currently, we have incredibly limited information on the health effects of individual chemicals and no research has explored how these compounds might interact together to impact human health."

The findings are published in the journal PLOS One.