Should a Prison Salt Trial Be Federally Funded?
Authors: Paul P. Christopher, Michael D. Stein
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2019)

Ideas and Opinions19 March 2019Should a Prison Salt Trial Be Federally Funded?Paul P. Christopher, MD and Michael D. Stein, MDPaul P. Christopher, MDWarren Alpert Medical School, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island (P.P.C.) and Michael D. Stein, MDSchool of Public Health, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts (M.D.S.)Author, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/M18-3382 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail In May 2017, prominent cardiology researchers convened in Jackson, Mississippi, to reconcile their views on how salt consumption contributes to cardiovascular disease (1). Identifying the appropriate dietary sodium intake has long frustrated researchers, and a definitive answer would have profound implications for public health (2). The group reached 2 conclusions: Only a large-scale clinical trial could determine whether restricted sodium intake reduces key health outcomes (such as stroke, myocardial infarction, and death), and prisoners might be the best population for this trial. If the pilot is successful, these researchers hope to secure federal funding to enroll thousands of prisoners, randomly ...References1. Jones DW, Luft FC, Whelton PK, Alderman MH, Hall JE, Peterson ED, et al. Can we end the salt wars with a randomized clinical trial in a controlled environment? Hypertension. 2018;72:10-1. [PMID: 29735638] doi:10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.118.11103 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar2. Institute of Medicine; Food and Nutrition Board; Board on Population Health and Public Health Practice; Committee on the Consequences of Sodium Reduction in Populations. Strom BL, Yaktine AL, Oria M, eds. Sodium Intake in Populations: Assessment of Evidence. Washington, DC: National Academies Pr; 2013. doi:10.17226/18311 CrossrefGoogle Scholar3. Hornblum AM. They were cheap and available: prisoners as research subjects in twentieth century America. BMJ. 1997;315:1437-41. [PMID: 9418095] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. Binswanger IA, Krueger PM, Steiner JF. Prevalence of chronic medical conditions among jail and prison inmates in the USA compared with the general population. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2009;63:912-9. [PMID: 19648129] doi:10.1136/jech.2009.090662 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar5. Collins SA, Thompson SH. What are we feeding our inmates? J Correct Health Care. 2012;18:210-8. [PMID: 22553283] doi:10.1177/1078345812444875 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar6. Christopher PP, Garcia-Sampson LG, Stein M, Johnson J, Rich J, Lidz C. Enrolling in clinical research while incarcerated: what influences participants' decisions? Hastings Cent Rep. 2017;47:21-9. [PMID: 28301701] doi:10.1002/hast.686 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar7. Institute of Medicine; Board on Health Sciences Policy; Committee on Ethical Considerations for Revisions to DHHS Regulations for Protection of Prisoners Involved in Research. Gostin LO, Vanchieri C, Pope E, eds. Ethical Considerations for Research Involving Prisoners. Washington, DC: National Academies Pr; 2007. doi:10.17226/11692 CrossrefGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: Warren Alpert Medical School, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island (P.P.C.)School of Public Health, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts (M.D.S.)Grant Support: Dr. Christopher is supported by the Greenwall Foundation.Disclosures: Disclosures can be viewed at www.acponline.org/authors/icmje/ConflictOfInterestForms.do?msNum=M18-3382.Corresponding Author: Paul P. Christopher, MD, Brown University, Box G-BH, Providence, RI 02912; e-mail, [email protected]edu.Current Author Addresses: Dr. Christopher: Brown University, Box G-BH, Providence, RI 02912.Dr. Stein: 715 Albany Street, Talbot Building, T2W, Boston, MA 02118.Author Contributions: Conception and design: P.P. Christopher, M.D. Stein.Drafting of the article: P.P. Christopher, M.D. Stein.Critical revision of the article for important intellectual content: P.P. Christopher, M.D. Stein.Final approval of the article: P.P. Christopher, M.D. Stein.Obtaining of funding: P.P. Christopher.This article was published at Annals.org on 5 March 2019. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Metrics Cited byEvidence-Based Policy Making for Public Health Interventions in Cardiovascular Diseases: Formally Assessing the Feasibility of Clinical TrialsSodium and health—concordance and controversy 19 March 2019Volume 170, Issue 6Page: 409-410KeywordsCardiovascular diseasesDietDisclosureFoodMyocardial infarctionReasoningResearch ethicsSaltsSodiumToxins ePublished: 5 March 2019 Issue Published: 19 March 2019 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2019 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...