Science of Salt: Paucity of high quality studies reporting on salt and health outcomes

A review by Petersen et al aimed to identify, summarize, and critically appraise studies on dietary salt and health outcomes that were published from April 2017 to March 2018.

Overall, 6747 citations and 42 health outcome studies were identified. Three of the 42 studies met the criteria for methodological quality and health outcomes and underwent detailed critical appraisals and commentary. All four of the studies critically appraised found that sodium reduction improved blood pressure, especially in individuals with hypertension.

In addition, sodium reduction reduced albuminuria in patients with stage 1‐3 chronic kidney disease. This review provides further evidence of the benefit of sodium reduction for blood pressure lowering and gives insights into the subgroups of the population that may derive the greatest benefit from sodium reduction and the time course required to see benefit.

Only three high‐quality studies were identified during this 12‐month review period, highlighting the critical need for more well‐conducted rigorous studies in this area.

Read the full article here.