Estimation model for habitual 24-hour urinary-sodium excretion using simple questionnaires from normotensive Koreans

Area of Science:

• Nutrition Science
• Epidemiology
• Public Health

Background:

• Accurate assessment of 24-hour urinary-sodium excretion is crucial for managing hypertension and cardiovascular health.
• Traditional methods like 24-hour dietary recall and urine collection can be burdensome and prone to inaccuracies.
• Development of alternative, feasible estimation methods is needed, particularly for specific populations like Korean adults.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a gender-specific equation for estimating 24-hour urinary-sodium excretion in normotensive Korean adults.
• To identify key anthropometric and lifestyle factors predictive of sodium excretion in this population.
• To provide a practical tool for assessing habitual sodium intake as an alternative to conventional methods.

Main Methods:

• A multivariable linear regression model was used to develop gender-specific estimation equations.
• Data from 640 Korean adults (training set) and 200 independent subjects (validation set) were utilized.
• Predictive factors included age, body weight, dietary behaviors (e.g., salt preference, Kimchi consumption), and smoking status.

Main Results:

• Gender-specific equations incorporating age, body weight, dietary habits, and smoking status were developed.
• The developed equations demonstrated good performance in the external validation set with minimal mean bias.
• Calculated cut-points for high sodium intake were ≥4,000 mg/d for men and ≥3,500 mg/d for women.

Conclusions:

• A feasible model for estimating 24-hour urinary-sodium excretion based on anthropometric and lifestyle factors was successfully developed for normotensive Korean adults.
• This estimation model offers a practical alternative for assessing sodium intake in asymptomatic populations.
• The findings contribute to public health strategies for sodium reduction and hypertension prevention in Korea.