Salt consumption and the risk of chronic diseases among Chinese adults in Ningbo city

Background: Chronic diseases have become one of essential public health concerns, leading causes of mortality in China. It is related to the changes in dietary pattern and dietary behavior. The objectives are to assess daily salt intake in Chinese people living in Ningbo and to examine its relationship with health outcomes. Methods: Our study used data from health and nutrition survey in 2017. This study included 2811 adults aged 18-79 years (48% males) from urban and rural areas in Ningbo. A food frequency questionnaire together with demographic, physical and medical questionnaires was used to collect dietary intake, demographic, lifestyle and medical information. Ordinal logistic regression was used in the statistical analysis. Results: The mean daily salt intake (13.0 g/day) of the participants was higher than the Chinese dietary reference intake (DRI, 6 g/d), which was related to higher risk of pre-hypertension and hypertension. Stratified by gender, education and lifestyle factors, daily salt intake was only significant in the blood pressure category (male: P = 0.048; less education: P = 0.003; urban: P = 0.006; no regular physical activity: P = 0.005, no regular smoking: P = 0.006). Ordinal logistic regression model shows that daily salt intake was significantly associated with higher odds of developing hypertension. Conclusion: The daily salt intake of the majority of citizens living in Ningbo exceeded Chinese DRI and may increase the risk of hypertension. Moreover, public health intervention of salt restriction is necessarily needed for the prevention and control the ongoing epidemic of chronic diseases.