Change in mean salt intake: 24-h urine versus overnight and spot urine samples

Published in the Nutrition Journal on 6th December 2020, Santos et al conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to compare the estimates of change in mean population salt intake based on 24-h urine and overnight/spot urine samples. From 14 studies, the pooled mean change in salt intake was − 0.43 g/day (95% CI − 1.16 to 0.30; I2 = 95%) using 24-h urines, and − 0.22 g/day (− 0.65 to 0.20; I2 = 87%) using overnight/spot urines, with a pooled difference-indifferences between the two methods of 0.27 g/day (− 0.23 to 0.77; I2 = 89%). The authors concluded that the evidence of overnight/spot urines’ capacity to estimate changes in mean salt intake over time is uncertain. Thus, more research where overnight/spot urines are collected in parallel with 24-h urines is recommended to enable a more in-depth evaluation of these alternative approaches to estimate change in mean salt intake.

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