- more than smoking or obesity, study of 183 countries claims Water contaminated with toxic metals is killing millions of people globally every year, a study suggests — and the majority of Americans drink it.
Researchers at the World Bank claim that lead in drinking water is responsible for more heart disease than smoking or bad diets.
Using blood tests from thousands of adults in 183 countries, they simulated the number of deaths from heart disease caused by lead — with their model saying 5.5million were caused by the heavy metal.
For comparison, smoking was linked to two million deaths from heart disease worldwide, while high cholesterol contributes to 2.6million.