Abstract
BackgroundHigh blood pressure or hypertension has become one of the main health problems, worldwide. A number of studies have proven that an increased intake of salt was related to an increased prevalence of cardiovascular diseases. Of late, its relationship with high salt intake has received a lot of attention. Studies in Malaysia have shown both rising hypertension over time as well as high salt consumption. Actions to reduce salt intake are essential to reduce hypertension and its disease burden. As such, we carried out a study to determine associations between knowledge, attitude and behaviour towards salt intake and hypertension among the Malaysian population.MethodsData obtained from the Malaysian Community Salt Survey (MyCoSS) was used partially for this study. The survey used a cross-sectional two-stage sampling design to select a nationally representative sample of Malaysian adults aged 18 years and above living in non-institutional living quarters (LQ). Face-to-face interviews were done by trained research assistants (RA) to obtain information on sociodemography, medical report, as well as knowledge, attitude and behaviour of the respondents towards salt intake and blood pressure.ResultsMajority of the respondents have been diagnosed with hypertension (61.4%) as well as knowledge of the effects of high salt intake on blood pressure (58.8%). More than half of the respondents (53.3%) said they controlled their salt intake on a regular basis. Those who knew that a high salt diet could contribute to a serious health problem (OR=0.23) as well as those who controlled their salt intake (OR=0.44) were significantly less likely to have hypertension.ConclusionAwareness of the effects of sodium on human health, as well as the behaviour of controlling salt intake, is essential towards lowering the prevalence of hypertension among Malaysians.
Highlights
High blood pressure or hypertension has become one of the main health problems, worldwide
The objective of this study was to determine knowledge, attitude, and behaviour related to salt intake, and their associations with hypertension in the Malaysian population
The data for this study was drawn from the Malaysian Community Salt Survey (MyCoSS), a nationwide cross-sectional study, conducted among Malaysian adults aged 18 years and above living in non-institutional living quarters (LQ)
Summary
High blood pressure or hypertension has become one of the main health problems, worldwide. A number of studies have proven that an increased intake of salt was related to an increased prevalence of cardiovascular diseases. With over 9.4 million deaths worldwide, it has been predicted that there will be up to 75% increment of global cardiovascular disease burden by the year 2020 [2,3,4]. The relationship between cardiovascular diseases and elevation in blood pressure in relation to salt is currently a major focus of scientific research [5]. According to Parmar et al [6], the most important factor causing elevation of human blood pressure is salt intake. Consuming excessive dietary salt contributes to high blood pressure [7, 8]. Zhang et al [9] suggest that the best way to control hypertension is by increasing awareness of this disease and promoting healthy salt intake behaviour
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