Knowledge, attitude and behaviour on salt intake and its association with hypertension in the Malaysian population: findings from MyCoSS (Malaysian Community Salt Survey)

Abstract

Background High blood pressure or hypertension has become one of the main health problems, worldwide. A number of studies have proven that an increased intake of salt was related to an increased prevalence of cardiovascular diseases. Of late, its relationship with high salt intake has received a lot of attention. Studies in Malaysia have shown both rising hypertension over time as well as high salt consumption. Actions to reduce salt intake are essential to reduce hypertension and its disease burden. As such, we carried out a study to determine associations between knowledge, attitude and behaviour towards salt intake and hypertension among the Malaysian population. Methods Data obtained from the Malaysian Community Salt Survey (MyCoSS) was used partially for this study. The survey used a cross-sectional two-stage sampling design to select a nationally representative sample of Malaysian adults aged 18 years and above living in non-institutional living quarters (LQ). Face-to-face interviews were done by trained research assistants (RA) to obtain information on sociodemography, medical report, as well as knowledge, attitude and behaviour of the respondents towards salt intake and blood pressure. Results Majority of the respondents have been diagnosed with hypertension (61.4%) as well as knowledge of the effects of high salt intake on blood pressure (58.8%). More than half of the respondents (53.3%) said they controlled their salt intake on a regular basis. Those who knew that a high salt diet could contribute to a serious health problem (OR=0.23) as well as those who controlled their salt intake (OR=0.44) were significantly less likely to have hypertension. Conclusion Awareness of the effects of sodium on human health, as well as the behaviour of controlling salt intake, is essential towards lowering the prevalence of hypertension among Malaysians.

A qualitative exploration of knowledge, practices and training needs on the safe use of cooking salt among national home-grown school feeding programme food vendors in Southwest Nigeria

“…Several food vendors were knowledgeable about the health problems that can be associated with excessive intake of cooking salt. This finding about several food vendors having good knowledge of the health consequences of excessive salt intake corroborates several other studies which found a good level of knowledge of health consequences of excessive salt intake in their study populations (Addo et al, 2006;Azubuike et al 2014;Baharudin et al, 2021). The various health problems of excessive salt intake such as hyperhidrosis, hypertension, diabetes, kidney problems, heart diseases identified by the study participants are in tandem with evidence on impacts of excessive salt intake noted in several studies (Rust and Ekmekcioglu, 2016;WHO, 2020;Hunter et al, 2022).…”

“…Notably, the finding also revealed that inadequate knowledge of health problems of excessive use of cooking salts and other condiments still existed among some food vendors. Similar pattern of result was noted in a study conducted by Baharudin et al (2021). Just like Baharudin et al (2021) noted, it is might be that some of these food vendors do not have basic exposure to information on health problems that could be associated excessive salt intake.…”

“…Similar pattern of result was noted in a study conducted by Baharudin et al (2021). Just like Baharudin et al (2021) noted, it is might be that some of these food vendors do not have basic exposure to information on health problems that could be associated excessive salt intake. However, the finding of this study underscores the need to promote nutrition education on the adverse effect of use of excessive salt intake in preparing school meals through appropriate capacity building interventions for food vendors.…”

Association between Eating Habits and Sodium Intake among Chinese University Students

“…In comparison with prior research [ 50 , 51 ], our study indicated that behavior was the only salt-related KAP associated with dietary sodium intake among college students. Additionally, based on our findings, college students scored the highest in knowledge related to salt intake, followed by a decrease in the proportion of high scores in attitudes, and the lowest high scores in behavior.…”

Online Health Education's Influence on Productive-Age's Population Knowledge, Attitude and Practice Towards Hypertension

“…In the attitude domain, the item of "Salt consumption does not affect blood pressure" was shown to have a significant difference. Poor attitude in salt intake could lower the awareness regarding hypertension; hence, preventive measures through massive widespread training is necessary [29]. The significant difference in the practice domain was found in the item of "I take time to rest when I am tired or stressed".…”