Dietary Salt Intake in a Suburban Nepali Community: A Cross-sectional Study Using 24-Hour Urinary Sodium

Area of Science:

• Cardiovascular Health
• Public Health Nutrition
• Noncommunicable Disease Prevention

Background:

• High dietary salt intake is a major risk factor for hypertension and cardiovascular diseases, especially in low- and middle-income countries.
• Nepal faces a significant burden of hypertension, yet data on salt consumption, particularly in suburban areas, is limited.
• Accurate assessment of salt intake is crucial for developing effective public health interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantify dietary salt intake in a suburban Nepali population using 24-hour urinary sodium excretion.
• To identify sociodemographic and behavioral factors associated with high salt consumption.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study involving 381 adults in Dhulikhel Municipality was conducted.
• Dietary salt intake was measured via 24-hour urinary sodium excretion, the gold standard method.
• Generalized Estimating Equations and multivariate analyses identified factors influencing salt intake.

Main Results:

• Average salt consumption was 9.55 ± 3.2 g/day, significantly exceeding World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations.
• Higher salt intake was observed with variations in sex, education level, and frequency of eating out.
• The findings indicate a substantial public health concern regarding sodium intake in the region.

Conclusions:

• Suburban Nepali communities exhibit excessively high dietary salt intake.
• Urgent implementation of population-specific strategies, including policy changes and public education, is necessary.
• Reducing sodium consumption is critical to mitigate the rising burden of salt-related noncommunicable diseases.