A high-salt diet doubles the risk of cardiovascular disease in people with type 2 diabetes, shows a recent study.
The analysis featured 1588 participants, aged 40-70 years and with a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes. All participants had an HbA1c ≥6.5%. Baseline dietary intake was assessed by the Food Frequency questionnaire, which measured average intake per week of 29 food groups. The primary outcome measures were time to cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality.
Mean daily dietary sodium intake ranged from 2.8-5.9g. Patients in the fourth quartile of sodium intake – a mean daily intake of 4.5g at baseline – were more than twice as likely to suffer from cardiovascular disease during the eight-year follow up, compared to those in the first quartile (a mean intake of 2.8g at baseline). Among patients who had an HbA1c ≥9.0%, those in the fourth quartile of sodium intake had a nine times greater risk of cardiovascular disease than patients in the first quartile, but this difference between first and fourth quartiles was not significant when analysis was limited to patients with an HbA1c ≤9.0%. All-cause mortality was not significantly associated with sodium intake.
The researchers suggested that ‘dietary salt restriction as treatment would be useful to prevent complications of diabetes in patients with type 2 diabetes’.
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