Abstract. The purpose of the present study was to assess the effects of single-session dietary counseling on salt restriction in Japanese cardiology outpatients as assessed using spot urine measurements. A total of 72 patients (73±11 years old, including 30 females) who visited a cardiology outpatient clinic and had a salt intake of >8 g/day were included in this study. The patients received dietary counseling for salt restriction by expert dieticians at the time of enrollment. The daily dietary salt intake was estimated using the spot urine test at baseline prior to dietary counseling, at 3-9 weeks (next office visit), and at 24-52 weeks during follow-up evaluations. The baseline level of estimated salt excretion was 11.3±1.5 g/day, which was reduced to 9.6±2.3 g/day (P<0.01) at 3-9 weeks, but increased again at 24-52 weeks to 10.4±2.1 g/day, which was less than the baseline value (P=0.034 vs. 3-9 weeks; P=0.025 vs. baseline). The numbers of patients who achieved salt excretion levels of <6.0 and <8.0 g/day at 3-9 weeks were 4 (5.6%) and 19 (26%) patients, respectively, and were further reduced to no patients (0%; P=0.043 vs. 3-9 weeks) and 9 (13%; P=0.035 vs. 3-9 weeks) patients at 24-52 weeks of follow-up evaluation, respectively. In conclusion, the efficacy of dietary counseling by expert dieticians in restricting the salt intake of patients who consumed large amounts of salt was modest and temporary. Multiple nutritional-and behavioral-oriented approaches should be considered to achieve further reductions in salt intake. IntroductionDietary salt restriction is recommended for the prevention of cardiovascular disease in patients with hypertension and heart failure as well as in the general population (1,2). However, salt reduction is challenging to achieve in the real world, particularly in countries in which salt consumption is extremely high, such as Japan. We have previously reported that the estimation of salt intake using the spot urine method may be a useful tool to motivate patients to reduce their salt intake for 8-26 weeks (3), and the efficacy of this method was found to be maintained at long-term (up to 2 years) follow-up (4). However, the percentage of patients who could achieve a reduction in salt intake to the recommended level was very low (<10-15%) (3,4). In particular, patients who habitually consume large amounts of salt at baseline find it difficult to reduce salt intake to the recommended level regardless of gender, age and body weight (4). This might be partly explained by the lack of dietary counseling by expert dietitians in the majority (93%) of the patients included in the previous study (4).The purpose of the present study was to assess the effects of single-session dietary counseling on salt reduction in addition to the spot urine-guided salt reduction approach in outpatients who consumed large amounts of salt. Materials and methodsPatients. This was a prospective observational study of patients who visited the outpatient cardiology clinic of Ueki Hospital (Kumamoto, Japan) between...
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.