Sodium Intake Linked to Hypertension Risk in New Study

A recent study has reportedly concluded that a diet high in sodium is associated “with increases in biomarkers of endothelial dysfunction, specifically serum uric acid (SUA) and urine albumin excretion (UAE),” leading to hypertension. John Forman, et al., “Association between Sodium Intake and Change in Uric Acid, Urine Albumin Excretion, and the Risk of Developing Hypertension,” Circulation, June 2012. Using data from the Prevention of Renal and Vascular End Stage Disease (PREVEND) cohort, researchers apparently analyzed SUA levels in 4,062 non-hypertensive participants and UAE levels in 4,146 participants. The results evidently showed that not only are high sodium diets associated with greater increases in SUA and UAE, but that over the long term they may lead “to endothelial dysfunction and vascular damage, generating a biological state in which continuance of the high sodium diet may produce hypertension (a sodium amplification loop).”

In particular, the study’s authors found that participants who consumed the
most sodium each day (approximately 6,200 milligrams per day) “were 21
percent more likely to develop high blood pressure” compared with those
consuming the least amount of sodium. As the American Heart Association
has pointed out, however, “those who had high uric acid levels and ate the
most salt were 32 percent more likely to develop high blood pressure while
those with high urine albumin levels and highest salt intake were 86 percent
more likely to develop high blood pressure.”

“[T]his study reinforces guidelines backed by the American Heart Association
and other professional organizations that recommend reducing salt
consumption to minimize the risk of developing high blood pressure,” the
lead author was quoted as saying. See American Heart Association Press
Release, June 18, 2012.