Dhaka, August 25: Bangladesh is facing a new health challenge. Heavy rains and flooding are causing seawater to infiltrate residential areas. As a result, people in coastal regions are forced to drink saline water, which is detrimental to their health. A recent study has found that high sodium levels in this water are increasing blood pressure among women, potentially leading to heart-related diseases.
The findings emerged from a study conducted between 2023 and 2025 in Bangladesh’s coastal areas. These results were presented at a high-level policy seminar held at the Sasakawa Auditorium of ICDDR,B (International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh) in Mohakhali, Dhaka.
Led by researchers from Imperial College London, the study analyzed data from 740 women in coastal Bangladesh. The researchers discovered that the average sodium content in drinking water from tube wells and groundwater was 933 milligrams per liter. Approximately 22 percent of women were consuming water that could account for up to 94 percent of the World Health Organization’s recommended maximum daily sodium intake, based on a daily consumption of two liters.
The most significant finding of the study was that women whose drinking water contained more than 1,000 milligrams of sodium per liter were 2.3 times more likely to experience an increase in diastolic blood pressure compared to those drinking water with less than 200 milligrams per liter. However, no statistically significant relationship was found with systolic blood pressure.
According to the Bangladesh news agency UNB, this issue is not limited to one area. An additional assessment conducted between 2023 and 2025 surveyed 27,697 water sources, of which 6,703 were used for drinking. In the Khoira sub-district, 55.3 percent of drinking water sources were found to be saline, while 23.3 percent in Asasuni were also saline.
The WHO states that rising sea levels, cyclones, storm surges, and flooding are causing saline water to enter groundwater and surface water sources. This is affecting the availability of safe and low-sodium drinking water. The World Health Organization has long highlighted salinity as a public health challenge in Bangladesh’s coastal regions.
Researchers indicated that climate change could exacerbate this problem. Therefore, regular monitoring of water salinity in coastal areas, expanding low-sodium drinking water sources, rainwater harvesting, and strengthening water purification systems are essential.
The study also emphasized that safe water policies should not be limited to water management but should also be linked to the prevention of hypertension, heart disease, and other non-communicable diseases.
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