Population Strategies to Decrease Sodium Intake
Authors: Crystal M. Smith-Spangler
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2010)

Letters17 August 2010Population Strategies to Decrease Sodium IntakeCrystal M. Smith-Spangler, MD, Douglas K. Owens, MD, MS, and Alan M. Garber, MD, PhDCrystal M. Smith-Spangler, MDFrom Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, CA 94304.Search for more papers by this author, Douglas K. Owens, MD, MSFrom Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, CA 94304.Search for more papers by this author, and Alan M. Garber, MD, PhDFrom Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, CA 94304.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-153-4-201008170-00023 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail IN RESPONSE:As Dr. Tapolyai notes, the blood pressure response to reduced sodium intake varies. Our model accounts for observable causes of such variation by adjusting for age, sex, and hypertension. However, overall sodium reduction is clearly an effective strategy for controlling blood pressure. Many studies have shown that sodium reduction leads to lower blood pressure in white persons as well as black persons. The Cochrane review (1) cited by Dr. Tapolyai found that in 58 trials comprising mostly white persons with hypertension, low-sodium diets reduced systolic blood pressure by an average of 4.18 mm Hg when compared with a ...References1. Jürgens G, Graudal . Effects of low sodium diet versus high sodium diet on blood pressure, renin, aldosterone, catecholamines, cholesterols, and triglyceride. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2004;:CD004022. [PMID: 14974053] MedlineGoogle Scholar2. Bray GA, Vollmer WM, Sacks FM, Obarzanek E, Svetkey LP, Appel LJ; DASH Collaborative Research Group. A further subgroup analysis of the effects of the DASH diet and three dietary sodium levels on blood pressure: results of the DASH-Sodium Trial. Am J Cardiol. 2004;94:222-7. [PMID: 15246908] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. Karppanen H, Mervaala E. Sodium intake and mortality [Letter]. Lancet. 1998;351:1509; author reply 1509-10. [PMID: 9605823] Google Scholar4. Strazzullo P, D'Elia L, Kandala NB, Cappuccio FP. Salt intake, stroke, and cardiovascular disease: meta-analysis of prospective studies. BMJ. 2009;339:b4567. [PMID: 19934192] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar5. Center for Science in the Public Interest. Heart Attack Entrees and a Side Order of Stroke. Accessed at www.cspinet.org/salt/ on 23 June 2010. Google Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: From Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, CA 94304.Disclosures: None disclosed. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoPopulation Strategies to Decrease Sodium Intake and the Burden of Cardiovascular Disease Crystal M. Smith-Spangler , Jessie L. Juusola , Eva A. Enns , Douglas K. Owens , and Alan M. Garber Population Strategies to Decrease Sodium Intake Mihaly Tapolyai Population Strategies to Decrease Sodium Intake Puneet Narayan and Anubhav Kumar Metrics 17 August 2010Volume 153, Issue 4Page: 277KeywordsBlood pressureConflicts of interestDietFoodHypertensionProspective studiesSaltsSodiumStrokeSystolic pressure ePublished: 17 August 2010 Issue Published: 17 August 2010 CopyrightCopyright © 2010 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF DownloadLoading ...