Abstract
“What I tell you three times is true”—Lewis Carroll. How many times have we been told that reducing dietary sodium intake will improve the health of whole populations? But is there adequate evidence to support this idea? Some recent studies have indicated that caution is needed. Targeting those most likely to benefit should prevent inadvertent harm and free the rest of the population from yet another nagging plea to alter their lifestyle.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Thomas MC, Moran J, Forsblom C, Harjutsalo V, Thorn L, Ahola A, et al. The association between dietary sodium intake, ESRD, and all-cause mortality in patients with type 1 diabetes. Diabetes Care. 2011;34:861–6.
Ekinci EI, Clarke S, Thomas MC, Moran JL, Cheong K, MacIsaac RJ, et al. Dietary salt intake and mortality in patients with type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Care. 2011;34:703–9.
Matyas E, Jeitler K, Horvath K, Semlitsch T, Hemkens LG, Pignitter N, et al. Benefit assessment of salt reduction in patients with hypertension: systematic overview. J Hypertens. 2011;29:821–8.
Charlton BG. A critique of Geoffrey Rose’s “population strategy” for preventive medicine. J R Soc Med. 1995;88:607–10.
Richards AM, Nicholls MG, Espiner EA, Ikram H, Maslowski AH, Hamilton EJ, et al. Blood-pressure response to moderate sodium restriction and to potassium supplementation in mild essential hypertension. Lancet. 1984;1(8380):757–61.
Chen J, Gu D, Huang J, et al. Metabolic syndrome and salt sensitivity of blood pressure in non-diabetic people in China: a dietary intervention study. Lancet. 2009;373:829–35.
Bibbins-Domingo K, Chertow GM, Coxson PG, Moran A, Lightwood JM, Pletcher MJ, et al. Projected effect of dietary salt reductions on future cardiovascular disease. N Engl J Med. 2010;362:590–9.
Appel LJ, Frolich ED, Hall JE, Pearson TA, Sacco RL, Seals DR, et al. The importance of population-wide sodium reduction as a means to prevent cardiovascular disease and stroke. A call for action from the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2011;123:1138–43.
Beaglehole R, Bonita R, Horton R, et al. Priority actions for the non-communicable disease crisis. Lancet. 2011;377:1438–47.
Robertson JIS. Dietary salt and hypertension: a scientific issue or a matter of faith? J Eval Clin Pract. 2003;9:1–22.
Stolarz-Skrzypek K, Kuznetsova T, Thijs L, et al. Fatal and nonfatal outcomes, incidence of hypertension, and blood pressure changes in relation to urinary sodium excretion. JAMA. 2011;305:1777–85.
Disclosure
No conflicts of interest relevant to this article were reported.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Nicholls, M.G. Population-Wide Dietary Sodium Restriction: A Cautious View. Curr Hypertens Rep 13, 325–327 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11906-011-0216-9
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11906-011-0216-9