DOI: 10.1038/AJH.2011.210
Sodium reduction as a method to prevent disease may not have an overall positive health effect, according to research published online in the
American Journal of Hypertension. The findings add to a growing body of evidence that the general recommendation of reducing dietary sodium
as a preventative heath measure should be re-evaluated.
Reduced sodium intake has been shown to lower blood pressure, so it has been assumed that it would also prevent cardiovascular disease. However,
in an updated meta-analysis of randomized intervention studies which measured blood pressure in addition to a broader range of markers, such
as hormones and lipids, Niels Graudal and colleagues find that salt reduction is associated with increase in factors, which previously have
been shown to be associated with increased cardiovascular risk.
Sodium reduction did decrease blood pressure for people with both normal and high blood pressure, but it also caused significant increases in
renin, cholesterol, triglyceride and other compounds that can have an adverse effect on cardiovascular health. The net health impact of these
antagonistic effects can only be resolved by further randomized controlled trials. The authors suggest that some previous meta-analyses
did not reflect the potentially harmful effects of sodium reduction sufficiently because they included very few longer-term studies.
Author contact:
--------------------
Niels Graudal (Copenhagen University Hospital, Denmark)
Tel: +45 35 45 9425; E-mail: [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>
Editorial contact:
----------------------
Michael Alderman (Editor-in-Chief, American Journal of Hypertension, New York, NY, USA)
Tel: +1 718 430 2281; E-mail: [email protected].edu_
PRESS CONTACTS
-----------------------
Neda Afsarmanesh (Nature New York)
Tel: +1 212 726 9231; E-mail: [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>
Ruth Francis (Nature London)
Tel: +44 20 7843 4562; E-mail: [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>
PICTURES: While we are happy for images from /American Journal of Hypertension/ to be reproduced for the purposes of contemporaneous news
reporting, you must also seek permission from the copyright holder (if named) or author of the research paper in question (if not).
HYPE:We take great care not to hype the papers mentioned on our press releases, but are sometimes accused of doing so. If you ever consider that a story has been hyped, please do not hesitate to contact us at [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>, citing the specific example.
