Sodium intake and prevalence of hypertension, coronary heart disease, and stroke in Korean adults

BackgroundDespite all the research that has been conducted so far on the correlation between sodium intake and hypertension, coronary heart disease, and stroke, the results thereof have no consistency.MethodsBy utilizing the data of the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey conducted by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, we carried out a more systematic investigation on sodium intake and prevalence rates in Korean adults. Sodium intake per kilogram, on which sodium intake is divided by weight, was applied to a model as a variable and the data has been separately analyzed according to sex. The total number of observed values after outlier elimination was 27,346, including 10,936 men and 16,410 women.ResultsIt was found that there is a positive correlation between sodium intake and prevalence rates of coronary heart disease, while potassium intake has a negative correlation with prevalence rates of hypertension and stroke.ConclusionIn order to control the effect of sodium on diseases, attention must also be paid to the influence of potassium on diseases as a covariate, and it is considered that additional research should be made regarding the role of potassium in studying the impact of sodium on health in the future.