Global burden attributable to high sodium intake from 1990 to 2019

High sodium intake is associated with a higher risk of a wide range of diseases. We aimed to estimate the pattern and trend of the global disease burden associated with high sodium intake from 1990 to 2019.

We obtained numbers and rates of death and disability-adjusted life year (DALY) attributable to high sodium intake by sex, socio-demographic index, and country from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. We calculated the estimated annual percentage change to evaluate the age-standardized rate (ASR) of the burden attributable to high sodium intake between 1990 and 2019. We further calculated the contribution of population growth, population aging, and age-specific rates of death and DALY to the net change in the total number of deaths and DALYs attributable to high sodium intake. From 1990 to 2019, global age-standardized rates of death and DALY attributable to high sodium intake substantially decreased for both sexes. However, there were significant increases in the total numbers of deaths and DALYs attributable to high sodium intake, which were driven by population growth and population aging. The attribution of population growth and population aging varied widely across countries, with a higher contribution of population growth in most developing countries and a higher contribution of population aging in countries with slow population growth.

Although the global burden attributable to high sodium intake in terms of age-standardized rate declined from 1990 to 2019, the absolute burden increased significantly, which was driven by population growth and population aging.