Will Sodium Intake Reduction Improve Cardiovascular Outcomes in the General Population? A Critical Review of Current Evidence

The data associating blood pressure to salt intake in humans comes from randomized clinical trials of interventions on dietary salt intake and population studies. Generally, estimates from meta-analyses are similar to those derived from prospective population studies (1.7 mm Hg change in systolic blood pressure per 100 mmol change in 24-hour urinary sodium). This observation, however, does not translate into a higher risk of incidence rate of hypertension in individuals consuming a highsalt diet. On the other hand, prospective studies relating cardiovascular outcomes to 24-h urinary sodium excretion produced inconsistent conclusions. Thus, available evidence does not support current recommendations of an indiscriminate and generalized reduction of salt intake in the general population.