1.
Effects of salt substitute on home blood pressure differs according to age and degree of blood pressure in hypertensive patients and their families.
Hu, J, Zhao, L, Thompson, B, Zhang, Y, Wu, Y
Clinical and experimental hypertension (New York, N.Y. : 1993). 2018;(7):664-672
Abstract
BACKGROUND It is known that home blood pressure (HBP) is a more reliable assessment of hypertension treatments than clinical blood pressure (BP). Despite this, HBP response to a salt substitute has only been evaluated by one study which, did not look at the salt substitute's effect on family members and did not analyze by age, gender, or BP degree. The aim of this current study was to assess the effects of a low-sodium and high-potassium salt substitute on HBP among hypertensive patients and their family members. METHODS A total of 220 households (including 220 hypertensive patients and 380 their families) were randomly assigned to the regular salt or salt substitute groups. HBP was measured at the beginning, 3rd, 6th, and 12th months. Among the patients (n = 220), only home systolic blood pressure (HSBP) was significantly reduced, by an adjusted baseline BP of 4.2 mm Hg (95% CI: 1.3-7.0 mm Hg), in the salt substitute group compared with those in the regular salt group at each visit (all P < 0.05). There were no detectable differences between groups for home diastolic blood pressure (HDBP) at any visit. Among the family members, HSBP and HDBP were not significantly different between the groups. Furthermore, Individuals ≥60 years old, hypertensive patients with stage-2 hypertension, family members with hypertension, and women experienced greater HSBP reduction. CONCLUSIONS Older subjects, those with higher blood pressure, and women experienced greater home blood pressure reduction from the salt substitute compared to regular salt.
2.
A large-scale cluster randomized trial to determine the effects of community-based dietary sodium reduction--the China Rural Health Initiative Sodium Reduction Study.
Li, N, Yan, LL, Niu, W, Labarthe, D, Feng, X, Shi, J, Zhang, J, Zhang, R, Zhang, Y, Chu, H, et al
American heart journal. 2013;(5):815-22
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Abstract
BACKGROUND Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death and disability in China. High blood pressure caused by excess intake of dietary sodium is widespread and an effective sodium reduction program has potential to improve cardiovascular health. DESIGN This study is a large-scale, cluster-randomized, trial done in five Northern Chinese provinces. Two counties have been selected from each province and 12 townships in each county making a total of 120 clusters. Within each township one village has been selected for participation with 1:1 randomization stratified by county. The sodium reduction intervention comprises community health education and a food supply strategy based upon providing access to salt substitute. Subsidization of the price of salt substitute was done in 30 intervention villages selected at random. Control villages continued usual practices. The primary outcome for the study is dietary sodium intake level estimated from assays of 24-hour urine. TRIAL STATUS The trial recruited and randomized 120 townships in April 2011. The sodium reduction program was commenced in the 60 intervention villages between May and June of that year with outcome surveys scheduled for October to December 2012. Baseline data collection shows that randomisation achieved good balance across groups. DISCUSSION The establishment of the China Rural Health Initiative has enabled the launch of this large-scale trial designed to identify a novel, scalable strategy for reduction of dietary sodium and control of blood pressure. If proved effective, the intervention could plausibly be implemented at low cost in large parts of China and other countries worldwide.