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Estimating the effect of a reduction of sodium intake in childhood on cardiovascular diseases later in life

Journal of Human Hypertension volume 34, pages 335–337 (2020)Cite this article

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Reducing sodium intake during childhood is recommended for the primordial prevention of hypertension and cardiovascular diseases (CVD). There is, however, no estimation of the effect of sustained reduction on sodium intake beginning in childhood on CVD later in life. Based on a simple impact model, we estimated that a sodium intake reduction between 1 and 2 g per day in childhood could reduce coronary diseases by 3–6%, strokes by 3–5%, heart failures by 4–9%, and CVD mortality by 4–9% later in life.

Worldwide, CVD cause 17.6 million deaths per year, and half would be attributable to high blood pressure (BP) [1, 2]. Since experimental studies have shown that high sodium intake increases BP [3], a key public health strategy to reduce the burden of high BP and its associated consequences is to reduce dietary sodium intake at the population level [4]. Sodium intake is high in most populations: The average sodium intake among adults has been estimated to be around 4 g per day worldwide (corresponding to 10 g of salt) [5], with the majority of the world population having intakes above the maximum of 2 g per day recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) [6]. Because high BP has its roots in childhood and tracks to adulthood [7], it has been advocated that primordial prevention beginning as early as from the first years of life can have a large potential to reduce the global burden of high BP [8]. Further, as dietary preferences and habits are largely ingrained during childhood, high sodium intake in childhood could lead to high sodium intake in adulthood, with associated higher BP levels and increased risk of CVD.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine (IUMSP), Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV), Lausanne, Switzerland

    Magali Rios-Leyvraz, Pascal Bovet & Arnaud Chiolero

  2. Institute of Primary Health Care (BIHAM), University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland

    Arnaud Chiolero

  3. Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada

    Arnaud Chiolero

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  1. Magali Rios-Leyvraz
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Correspondence to Magali Rios-Leyvraz.

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Rios-Leyvraz, M., Bovet, P. & Chiolero, A. Estimating the effect of a reduction of sodium intake in childhood on cardiovascular diseases later in life. J Hum Hypertens 34, 335–337 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41371-018-0137-z

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