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Sodium intake and its source assessed using weighed food records in rural eastern Rwanda

Journal of Human Hypertension volume 35, pages 556–558 (2021)Cite this article

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The current study was performed to estimate sodium intake and to understand its dietary sources in rural Rwanda, where the population is at high risk for hypertension. This cross-sectional study reported that the average sodium intake was 3575 mg/day, with the primary contribution from a dish called agatogo that consists of boiled food seasoned with salt. Cooking agatogo with half the usual amount of salt might be a good strategy to reduce the level of sodium intake in rural Rwanda.

The Republic of Rwanda, which is in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), reported a prevalence of hypertension of 15.0% in 2015 [1]. Compared with other low- and middle-income countries, a lower proportion of individuals in SSA countries receive care for hypertension [2], and people in Rwanda might also have limited access to health care services because they have to take an average of 49.9 min to reach a health centre [3]. Sodium reduction programs based on sodium intake data, including the sources of intake, can be an effective strategy to mitigate the high prevalence of hypertension in SSA countries, including Rwanda [4]. However, sodium intake data are extremely limited in Rwanda; to date, the only study that has reported such data was based on a 24 h urinary sodium simulation [5]. In other SSA countries, Oyebode et al. stated that sodium intake ranged from 1600 mg/day in Tanzania and Uganda to 10,340 mg/day in Nigeria, and they noted that sodium intake was affected by the location of the survey area [6]. The broad sodium intake range might also reflect various dietary methods, ethnicities, or food availability. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to estimate sodium intake and to understand its dietary sources in rural Rwanda, where 82.2% of the population of Rwanda lives [3], using weighed food records (WFR).

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Acknowledgements

We thank Dr. Phil Bardsley, Dr. Jan Bardsley, Dr. Shunji Nagai, and Dr. Daisy Umutoni for their technical support.

Funding

The original study in which the data collection was performed by World Vision Japan and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Nutrition and Food Science, Faculty of Human Life and Environmental Sciences, Ochanomizu University, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan

    Sayaka Nagao-Sato

  2. Natural Science Division, Faculty of Core Research, Ochanomizu University, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan

    Noriko Sudo

  3. Graduate School of Humanities and Sciences, Ochanomizu University, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan

    Ayumi Yanagisawa & Yukiko Amitani

  4. Cooperative Faculty of Education, Utsunomiya University, Tochigi, Japan

    Yuko Caballero

  5. Center for Health and Environmental Risk Research, National Institute for Environmental Studies, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan

    Makiko Sekiyama

  6. World Vision Rwanda, Kigali, Rwanda

    Ananias Sentozi

  7. World Vision Japan, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

    Takuya Matsuoka

  8. World Vision Japan, Nakano-ku, Tokyo, Japan

    Hiroaki Imanishi & Takayo Sasaki

  9. Department of Agricultural Innovation for Sustainability, Tokyo University of Agriculture, Atsugi-shi, Kanagawa, Japan

    Hirotaka Matsuda

Authors
  1. Sayaka Nagao-Sato
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Correspondence to Noriko Sudo.

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Nagao-Sato, S., Sudo, N., Yanagisawa, A. et al. Sodium intake and its source assessed using weighed food records in rural eastern Rwanda. J Hum Hypertens 35, 556–558 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41371-021-00517-4

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