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GenSalt: rationale, design, methods and baseline characteristics of study participants

Journal of Human Hypertension volume 21, pages 639–646 (2007)Cite this article

Abstract

Hypertension is a complex disorder influenced by genetic and environmental determinants and their interactions. The objectives of the Genetic Epidemiology Network of Salt Sensitivity (GenSalt) are to localize and identify genes related to blood pressure (BP) responses to dietary sodium and potassium intervention. GenSalt utilizes a family feeding-study design. Each family was ascertained through a proband with untreated prehypertension or stage-1 hypertension in rural China. A medical history, lifestyle risk factors and responses to cold pressor tests, were obtained at baseline visits while BP, weight, blood and urine specimens were collected at baseline and follow-up visits. The dietary intervention included a 7-day low-sodium feeding (51.3 mmol/day), a 7-day high-sodium feeding (307.8 mmol/day) and a 7-day high-sodium feeding with an oral potassium supplementation (60 mmol/day). Microsatellite markers for genome-wide linkage scan and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers in candidate genes will be genotyped. Overall, 3153 participants from 658 families were recruited for GenSalt. The mean systolic and diastolic BPs were 128.0 and 80.3, 111.6 and 71.0, 112.6 and 72.6, 106.6 and 65.3 and 136.7 and 75.0 mm Hg for probands, siblings, spouses, offspring and parents, respectively. The mean urinary excretion of sodium and potassium were 232.5 and 38.6, 222.9 and 38.2, 213.1 and 37.8 and 207.3 and 36.0 mmol/24-h for probands, siblings, spouses and offspring, respectively. Our study will identify novel genes that influence significantly the effect of dietary sodium and potassium intake on BP. This information is useful for development of targeted intervention for the prevention and treatment of hypertension.

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Acknowledgements

The Genetic Epidemiology Network of Salt Sensitivity (GenSalt) is supported by a cooperative agreement project Grant (U01HL072507) from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland.

Author information

Author notes

  1. A full list of all investigators and staff participating in this study is given in the appendix.

  2. Professor J He, Department of Epidemiology, Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, 1440 Canal Street, Suite 2000, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA. E-mail: jhe@tulane.edu

Consortia

The GenSalt Collaborative Research Group

Appendix

Appendix

The GenSalt Study Steering Committee: Dongfeng Gu, Jiang He (Chair), James E Hixson, Cashell E Jaquish, Depei Liu, DC Rao, Paul K Whelton and Zhijian Yao.

GenSalt Collaborative Research Group

Tulane University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, USA: Jiang He (PI), Lydia A Bazzano, Chung-Shiuan Chen, Jing Chen, Lee Hamm, Paul Muntner, Kristi Reynolds, Jaqueline R Reuben, Paul K Whelton and Wenjie Yang.

Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, USA: DC Rao (PI), Matthew Brown, Charles Gu, Treva Rice, Karen Schwander and Shiping Wang.

Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China: Dongfeng Gu (PI), Jie Cao, Jichun Chen, Xiufang Duan, Jianfeng Huang, Jinghan Huang, Jianxin Li, Depei Liu, Donghua Liu, Enchun Pan, Yang Wei and Xiqui Wu. Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Shandong, China: Fanghong Lu (PI), Shikuan Jin, Qingjie Meng, Fan Wu and Yingxin Zhao; Shandong Center for Diseases Control and Prevention, Shandong, China: Jixiang Ma (PI), Weika Li and Jiyu Zhang; Zhengzhou University: Dongsheng Hu (PI), Yaxin Ding, Hongwei Wen, Meixi Zhang and Weidong Zhang; Xinle Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, Hebei, China: Xu Ji (PI), Rongyan Li and Haijun Zu; Nanjing University of Medical Sciences, Jiangsu, China: Cailiang Yao (PI), Yongchao Li, Chong Shen and Jiayi Zhou; Xi’an Jiaotong University, Shanxi, China: Jianjun Mu (PI), Enrang Chen, Qinzhou Huang and Man Wang.

Chinese National Human Genome Center at Beijing: Zhi-Jian Yao (PI), Shufeng Chen, Dongfeng Gu, Hongfan Li, Laiyuan Wang, Penghua Zhang, Qi Zhao.

University of Texas Health Sciences Center at Houston: James E Hixson (PI) and Lawrence C Shimmin.

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute: Cashell E Jaquish

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The GenSalt Collaborative Research Group. GenSalt: rationale, design, methods and baseline characteristics of study participants. J Hum Hypertens 21, 639–646 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.jhh.1002207

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