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Applying recovery biomarkers to calibrate self-report measures of sodium and potassium in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos

Journal of Human Hypertension volume 31, pages 462–473 (2017)Cite this article

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A Corrigendum to this article was published on 08 November 2017

Abstract

Measurement error in assessment of sodium and potassium intake obscures associations with health outcomes. The level of this error in a diverse US Hispanic/Latino population is unknown. We investigated the measurement error in self-reported dietary intake of sodium and potassium and examined differences by background (Central American, Cuban, Dominican, Mexican, Puerto Rican and South American). In 2010–2012, we studied 447 participants aged 18–74 years from four communities (Miami, Bronx, Chicago and San Diego), obtaining objective 24-h urinary sodium and potassium excretion measures. Self-report was captured from two interviewer-administered 24-h dietary recalls. Twenty percent of the sample repeated the study. We examined bias in self-reported sodium and potassium from diet and the association of mismeasurement with participant characteristics. Linear regression relating self-report with objective measures was used to develop calibration equations. Self-report underestimated sodium intake by 19.8% and 20.8% and potassium intake by 1.3% and 4.6% in men and women, respectively. Sodium intake underestimation varied by Hispanic/Latino background (P<0.05) and was associated with higher body mass index (BMI). Potassium intake underestimation was associated with higher BMI, lower restaurant score (indicating lower consumption of foods prepared away from home and/or eaten outside the home) and supplement use. The R2 was 19.7% and 25.0% for the sodium and potassium calibration models, respectively, increasing to 59.5 and 61.7% after adjusting for within-person variability in each biomarker. These calibration equations, corrected for subject-specific reporting error, have the potential to reduce bias in diet–disease associations within this largest cohort of Hispanics in the United States.

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Acknowledgements

The Study of Latinos: Nutrition and Physical Activity Assessment Study was supported by grant R01HL095856 from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. The Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos was carried out as a collaborative study supported by contracts from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to the University of North Carolina (N01-HC65233), University of Miami (N01-HC65234), Albert Einstein College of Medicine (N01-HC65235), Northwestern University (N01-HC65236) and San Diego State University (N01-HC65237). The following Institutes/Center/Offices contribute to the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos through a transfer of funds to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute: the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities, the National Institute of Deafness and Other Communications Disorders, the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, and the Office of Dietary Supplements. Additional support at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine was provided from the Clinical & Translational Science Award (UL1 TR001073) from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences at the National Institutes of Health. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health. We thank the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos investigators and staff for their valuable contributions. For a complete list of staff and investigators, see: Sorlie et al.24 and http://www.cscc.unc.edu/hchs/.

Author contributions

YMR and PAS designed the research. YMR, DSA, WWW, MDG and LVH, PAS conducted the research; DSA and PAS analysed the data. All authors wrote the manuscript. YMR, DSA and PAS had primary responsibility for the final content. All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Epidemiology & Population Health, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA

    Y Mossavar-Rahmani, M H Alderman & R C Kaplan

  2. Department of Biostatistics, Collaborative Studies Coordinating Center, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    D Sotres-Alvarez

  3. Department of Pediatrics, USDA/ARS, Children’s Nutrition Research Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA

    W W Wong

  4. Division of Cardiovascular Sciences, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA

    C M Loria

  5. Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, USA

    M D Gellman

  6. Department of Preventive Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA

    L Van Horn

  7. Department of Medicine, New York University, New York, NY, USA

    J M Beasley

  8. Department of Medicine, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA

    C M Lora

  9. Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA

    A M Siega-Riz

  10. Department of Biostatistics & Epidemiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    P A Shaw

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  1. Y Mossavar-Rahmani
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Correspondence to Y Mossavar-Rahmani.

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Mossavar-Rahmani, Y., Sotres-Alvarez, D., Wong, W. et al. Applying recovery biomarkers to calibrate self-report measures of sodium and potassium in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos. J Hum Hypertens 31, 462–473 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/jhh.2016.98

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