The relationship of salt intake and arterial blood pressure in salted-tea drinking Kashmiris

Abstract

In this study we attempted to explore the relationship between salt and blood pressure in a salted-tea drinking population of Northern Kashmir which has not been exposed to a Western way of life. All the available family members of randomly selected houses in 14 villages were studied. Dietary intake was documented for the whole month of the study period to estimate the daily salt consumption in 281 subjects (193 males, 88 females), whose ages were reliably known. Their age ranged from 15 to 85 years (median 35) and their mean daily salt intake was 150 ± 52 mmol (range 80–440). Both the systolic and diastolic blood pressures showed a significant increase with the salt intake and age; multiple regression analysis suggested an independent effect of salt intake on blood pressure after adjusting for age. Twenty-six subjects (9.3%) had hypertension ( blood pressure ⩾ 160 95 , mm Hg ); their daily salt intake was significantly higher than that of normotensive subjects (mean 167 ± SD 53 vs 142 ± 46 mmol; P < 0.001). These studies suggest a relationship between habitual high salt intake and blood pressure.