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Salt intake, blood pressure, and socioeconomic disparities among government employees in Sri Lanka: a cross-sectional study

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Abstract

Our study estimated salt intake, examined the association between blood pressure (BP) and salt intake, and explored the socioeconomic variations in salt intake among administrators (government employees). This is a cross-sectional study. We studied 168 randomly selected administrators aged 30–60 years attached to government offices in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Self-administered questionnaire gathered information on socio-demographic, work-related information, lifestyle practices, and medical history. BP, 24-hour urine collection, and anthropometric indices were measured. Mean salt intake levels measured by 24-hour Sodium (Na) excretion in hypertensives and non-hypertensives were 202.56 (SD ± 85.45) mmol/day and 176.79 (SD ± 82.02) mmol/day, respectively. A 100-mmol increase in sodium was associated with an average increase of 3.1 (95 per cent CI 2–4.2) mmHg in systolic BP and 1.8 (95 per cent CI 0.89–2.6) mmHg in diastolic BP. Higher salt intake was found in managerial assistants (12.38 ± 5.0 g) compared with senior officers (10.84 ± 4.9 g). Salt intake among these administrators was alarmingly high. High salt intake was positively associated with hypertension and more prevalent in lower socioeconomic strata.

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Acknowledgement

The Non-Communicable Disease Unit, Ministry of Health, Sri Lanka funded this study. The authors thank Prof. Sumedha Wijeratne Senior Lecturer in Reproductive Biology, and Mr. H. M Damith. N. Herath Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics Faculty of Medicine Colombo for their laboratory and technical support rendered.

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Correspondence to Anuji Upekshika Gamage.

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Gamage, A.U., De Alwis Seneviratne, R. & Hanna, F.S. Salt intake, blood pressure, and socioeconomic disparities among government employees in Sri Lanka: a cross-sectional study. J Public Health Pol 38, 327–344 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41271-017-0073-0

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