Publication:

The effect of high salt and oil consumption on heart health in an urban area of India: a community-based, cross-sectional study

Background The average salt and oil intake of the Indian population is substantially higher than WHO and national dietary recommendations. This has been linked to increased blood pressure, cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), and stroke.

Methods This community-based cross-sectional study was carried out in an urban area among adults aged ≥40 years to note the association between high dietary salt/oil intake (measured using Consumption units) with future risk CVDs and other non-communicable diseases. A semi-structured questionnaire adapted from WHO STEPS, and food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) was used to collect data.

Results The average daily salt intake (10.1±4.13 g/d) was >5 grams in 95.5% of the study participants. A significant association was found between salt consumption with gender, overall tobacco use, and waist circumference using Chi Square (or Fischer Exact). The average daily oil consumption (24.3±14.04 ml/d) was >25 ml in 37% of the individuals. Refined Soybean was the most commonly used oil for cooking. A positive association was found between oil consumption and gender, occupation, type of family, tobacco, and alcohol consumption. There was a positive linear association between CVD risk score (using WHO ISH risk charts) and salt/oil intake using Pearson’s correlation and scatter plots. This was further tested in the linear regression model which showed that 6.3% of the changes in CVD risk could be predicted by salt intake in the adjusted model.

Conclusions Increasing awareness and implementing health policies targeting lower salt and oil intake in the population is crucial for decreasing heart diseases.