Title:Will Sodium Intake Reduction Improve Cardiovascular Outcomes in the General Population? A Critical Review of Current Evidence
VOLUME: 11 ISSUE: 1
Author(s):Katarzyna Stolarz-Skrzypek, Adam Bednarski, Kalina Kawecka-Jaszcz, Danuta Czarnecka and Jan A. Staessen
Affiliation:First Department of Cardiology, Interventional Electrocardiology and Hypertension, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Kopernika 17, 31-501 Krakow, Poland.
Keywords:Blood pressure, cardiovascular mortality, cardiovascular outcomes, salt restriction, salt, sodium.
Abstract:The data associating blood pressure to salt intake in humans comes from randomized
clinical trials of interventions on dietary salt intake and population studies. Generally, estimates from
meta-analyses are similar to those derived from prospective population studies (1.7 mm Hg change in
systolic blood pressure per 100 mmol change in 24-hour urinary sodium). This observation, however,
does not translate into a higher risk of incidence rate of hypertension in individuals consuming a highsalt
diet. On the other hand, prospective studies relating cardiovascular outcomes to 24-h urinary sodium excretion produced
inconsistent conclusions. Thus, available evidence does not support current recommendations of an indiscriminate and
generalized reduction of salt intake in the general population.
