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In The News Neurology Could Reducing Salt Consumption Prevent Cardiovascular Events?
In The News Neurology Could Reducing Salt Consumption Prevent Cardiovascular Events?
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In The News Neurology Could Reducing Salt Consumption Prevent Cardiovascular Events?
| Could Reducing Salt Consumption Prevent Cardiovascular Events? |
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| Posted by Dr. Johanne Perez M.D |
| Friday, 12 February 2010 16:15 |
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High salt intake is associated in a dose-dependent manner with high rates of stroke and cardiovascular events.
In a meta-analysis of prospective studies with at least 3 years of follow-up published from 1966 through 2008, investigators assessed the association between salt intake and stroke or cardiovascular events; the analysis included 19 independent cohort samples from 13 studies involving 177,025 participants. Daily salt intake was estimated at baseline only from a single 24-hour urine measurement or dietary assessment. The average difference between high-intake and low-intake groups was about 5 g of salt (86 mmol of sodium) per day. During follow-up periods ranging from 3.5 to 19.0 years, more than 10,000 vascular events occurred. High salt intake was associated with increased risks for stroke (relative risk, 1.23; 95% confidence interval, 1.06–1.43; P=0.007) and cardiovascular disease (RR, 1.14; 95% CI, 0.99–1.32; P=0.07). After exclusion of a single study with particularly unreliable estimates of sodium intake, a sensitivity analysis of the cardiovascular disease findings showed a pooled RR estimate of 1.17 (CI, 1.02–1.34; P=0.02). Comment: According to this meta-analysis, high salt intake is associated with significant increases in rates of stroke and total cardiovascular events. Based on the findings, a population-wide decrease in salt intake of 5 g (about 1 teaspoon) per day could result in 23% fewer strokes and 17% fewer total cardiovascular events. Efforts by public health authorities and the food industry to help individuals take steps toward meeting recommended targets for salt consumption are clearly warranted. — Beat J. Meyer, MD Published in Journal Watch Cardiology January 6, 2010 Citation(s): Strazzullo P et al. Salt intake, stroke, and cardiovascular disease: Meta-analysis of prospective studies. BMJ 2009 Nov 24; 339:b4567. (http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmj.b4567) |
Current guidelines recommend a daily salt intake of 5 to 6 g or less. However, daily salt consumption exceeds that level in most adult populations and is higher than 12 g in Eastern Europe and Asia.
