Drinking Water Quality Tied to Lung Infections in Patients With Cystic Fibrosis

FRIDAY, Sept. 1, 2023 (HealthDay News) — Naturally occurring and anthropogenic water-quality constituents may heighten the risk for nontuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) pulmonary disease in people with cystic fibrosis, according to a study published in the October issue of Environmental Epidemiology.

Ettie M. Lipner, from the U.S. National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, and colleagues identified water-quality constituents that influence the risk for NTM pulmonary infection in persons with cystic fibrosis in the United States. Data from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Patient Registry (2010 to 2019) were linked to surface water data extracted from the Water Quality Portal for each patient ZIP code.