Abstract
We investigated whether home environment, salt knowledge, and salt-use behavior were associated with urinary sodium (Na) excretion in Japanese secondary school students. Students (267; mean age, 14.2 years) from Suo-Oshima, Japan, collected three overnight urine samples and completed a salt environment/knowledge/behavior questionnaire. A subset of students (n = 66) collected, on non-consecutive days, two 24 h urine samples, and this subset was used to derive a formula for estimating 24 h Na excretion. Generalized linear models were used to examine the association between salt environment/knowledge/behavior and Na excretions. Students that had salt or soy sauce placed on the dining table during meals excreted more Na than those that did not (pfor trend < 0.05). A number of foods to which the students added seasonings were positively associated with Na excretion (pfor trend = 0.005). The students who frequently bought foods at convenience stores or visited restaurants excreted more Na in urine than those who seldom bought foods (pfor trend < 0.05). Knowledge about salt or discretionary seasoning use was not significantly associated with Na excretion. The associations found in this study indicate that home environment and salt-use behavior may be a target for a public health intervention to reduce salt intake of secondary school students.
Highlights
Reduction of salt intake is a challenge worldwide to control health risks such as hypertension, obesity, osteoporosis, asthma, and gastric cancer [1]
We investigated whether home environment, salt knowledge, and salt-use behaviors were associated with estimated urinary Na excretion in Japanese secondary school students
Estimated Na excretion was higher in boys than in girls (p = 0.002), but 24 h Na excretion was similar among boys and girls in a subpopulation (153.8 (SD, 40.1)
Summary
Reduction of salt intake is a challenge worldwide to control health risks such as hypertension, obesity, osteoporosis, asthma, and gastric cancer [1]. Salt intake of Japanese adolescents was estimated to be 10.0–10.6 g/day, which is similar to that of adults [3]. In studies of Japanese adults, while knowledge about salt were not associated with 24 h sodium (Na) excretion, behavior such as salty food intake was associated with measured and estimated 24 h Na excretion [4,5]. The association between Na intake and salt-use behaviors, observed in Japanese adults, is unknown in children and adolescents. Salt intake of primary school children was correlated with that of their parents [6,7]; having breakfast and dinner at home likely results in such a correlation. Encouragement to parents may be an intervention measure to reduce salt intake of students.
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