Relationship Between Salt Intake and Blood Pressure in Hypertensive Patients in Beijing

Background To survey the relationship between salt intake and blood pressure in hypertensive patients in Beijing. Methods A cross-sectional survey was used. Essential hypertensive patients were enrolled and divided into three groups (low, medium, and high salt intake) according to their 24 h urinary sodium excretion, which was used to access the salt intake. Blood pressure was measured through office measurement and ambulatory blood pressure monitoring. Results A total of 2,241 patients were enrolled with a mean age of 59.5 ± 13.8 years, mean blood pressure of 141.1 ± 18.5/84.6 ± 12.7 mm Hg, and urinary sodium excretion of 163.9 (95% CI 160.3–167.4) mmol [equal to salt intake 9.59 (9.38–9.79) g/d]. There were 1,544 cases from tertiary hospitals and the other 697 cases from community hospitals. Patients from community hospitals took more salt than patients from tertiary hospitals. Patients with high salt intake were younger than patients with low and medium salt intake. There were more males in high salt intake group than in the other two groups. Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring showed that patients with high salt intake had higher mean blood pressure not only in daytime, but also at night. The diastolic blood pressure in patients with medium salt intake was higher than that in patients with low salt intake. Conclusions Higher salt intake was associated with higher ambulatory blood pressure in hypertensive patients. More effort should be made to lower salt intake to improve blood pressure control rate.