Salt Substitutes Beneficial and Generalizable

A meta-analyses and metaregressions concluded that the beneficial effects of salt substitutes on blood pressure and clinical outcomes were consistent and might be generalizable across diverse population subgroups worldwide. The study included 21 trials and 31 949 participants, with 19 reporting effects on blood pressure and 5 reporting effects on clinical outcomes. Overall reduction of systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) was −4.61 and −1.61 mm Hg, respectively. Reductions in blood pressure appeared to be consistent across geographical regions and population subgroups defined by age, sex, history of hypertension, body mass index, baseline blood pressure, baseline 24-hour urinary sodium and baseline 24-hour urinary potassium. Metaregression indicated that each 10% lower proportion of sodium chloride in the salt substitute was associated with a −1.53 and −0.95 mm Hg greater reduction in SBP and DBP, respectively. There were clear protective effects of salt substitute on total mortality (risk ratio [RR] 0.89), cardiovascular mortality (RR 0.87) and cardiovascular events (RR 0.89). The findings suggest that sodium-reduced, potassium-enriched salt should be considered to reduce the burden of blood pressure-related diseases and to prevent complications in patients with hypertension. Source: https://heart.bmj.com/