The Relationship Between the Levels of Sodium Intake and Insulin Resistance in Korean Population: Findings from the Fifth Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2010

Abstract

Background: In the Western countries, it has been considered that sodium restriction reduces cardiovascular events in normotensive, pre-hypertensive, or hypertensive individuals. But, according to recent studies, low sodium diets is associated with an increase in insulin resistance, and may adversely affect serum lipids, and neurohormonal pathways, leading to increases in the incidence of new cardiometabolic disease. Methods: The data of 3,835 individuals (1,617 men and 2,045 women) aged 19 years or older from the fifth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey in 2010 were used. The relationship between the levels of sodium intake and insulin resistance was analyzed using complex sample descriptive and logistic regression analyses, analysis of covariance. Results: According to Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2010 data, the amount of estimated daily sodium intake is 3.76 g and 3.47 g, respectively in men and women. In the model which was corrected for confounding variables, the more daily sodium intake, the more insulin resistance increased, and this trend is significant only in women group. Conclusion: Unlike the previous study such as that of Garg et al., in Korean population, in which even the lowest quartile of daily sodium intake was above 100 mmol/d, the lower sodium intake, the decreased insulin resistance intake over the entire range. Relatively low to moderate sodium diet is not associated with an increase in insulin resistance, that is not ‘J’ shape, but linear.