Drinking Water Salinity, Hydration, Kidney Health, and Blood Pressure in Hot, Dry Places

Drinking water salinity in a hot-dry environment: Hydration, kidney function, and blood pressure

NIH-funded research Pennsylvania State University, the · NIH-11194288

This project looks at how salty drinking water in hot, dry areas might affect your body's hydration, kidney health, and blood pressure.

Quick facts

Grant typeR01 grant
Study typeNIH-funded research
Funding institutionPennsylvania State University, the NIH-funded
Lab location1 site (University Park, United States)
Project IDNIH-11194288 on NIH RePORTER

What this research studies

Many adults around the world, including in the United States, are exposed to increasingly salty drinking water due to droughts and other environmental changes. We want to understand if this salty water truly impacts how your body manages water, affects your kidney function, and raises your blood pressure. Our goal is to find clear connections between drinking water salinity and these health outcomes, especially in hot environments where people need more water. This will help us develop health standards for drinking water salinity, similar to how we have guidelines for dietary salt.

Who could benefit from this research

Good fit: Ideal candidates for future related studies would be adults aged 21 and older living in hot, dry environments where drinking water salinity is a concern.

Not a fit: Patients whose health conditions are unrelated to drinking water quality or who do not live in areas with high drinking water salinity may not directly benefit from this specific research.

Why it matters

Potential benefit: If successful, this work could lead to new health standards for drinking water salinity, helping to protect kidney function and manage blood pressure for people living in affected areas.

How similar studies have performed: While some past work has looked at drinking water quality, this project aims to provide clearer evidence by carefully separating the effects of salinity from other factors, which has been a challenge in previous studies.

Where this research is happening

University Park, United States

Researchers

About this research

  1. This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
  2. Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
  3. For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.
Last reviewed 2026-06-13 by the Find a Trial editorial team. Information on this page is for educational purposes and is not medical advice. Always consult qualified healthcare professionals about clinical trial participation.