Blood pressure control status and relationship between salt intake and lifestyle including diet in hypertensive outpatients treated at a general hospital

The purpose of the present study was to investigate blood pressure (BP) control and salt intake in hypertensive outpatients treated at a general hospital and to examine the relationship between their lifestyles and amount of salt intake. Subjects comprised 429 hypertensive patients (206 males, 223 females, and average age of 71 ± 11 years). We estimated 24-hour salt excretion using spot urine samples and assessed lifestyle using a self-description questionnaire. Average clinic BP and the number of antihypertensive drugs were 132 ± 11/73 ± 8 mmHg and 1.8 ± 0.9, respectively. In all subjects, average estimated salt intake was 9.2 ± 2.8 g/day and the rate of achievement of the estimated salt intake of <6 g/day was 11.2%. In patients with chronic kidney disease or cardiovascular disease, these values were 8.6 ± 2.6 g/day and 15.5%, and 9.1 ± 3.3 g/day and 18.2%, respectively. Estimated salt intake was lower in patients living alone than in those with a family. In a multivariate analysis, estimated salt intake correlated positively with body mass index and negatively with age. Among patients with an excessive salt intake (≥10 g/day), 75.2% answered that they made an effort to reduce their salt intake. The amount of food and processed food consumption correlated with estimated salt intake. In conclusion, the rate of achievement of salt restriction was low in hypertensive patients treated at a general hospital. It may be important to provide data on actual salt intake and guide salt restriction in the individual management of hypertension.