Salt and hypertension. Possibilities of the non-drug prevention of hypertension by dietary correction in an organized population of 25-to-49-year-old men and women for 3 years

There is much evidence for a relation between sodium intake and blood pressure (BP). The aim of this study was to investigate the efficiency of a BP reduction when sodium was limited in men and women with high normal BP. Three-year dietary intervention significantly lowered systolic and diastolic BP (SBP and DBP) in the men and women from the intervention group (p<0,05) as compared to those in the control group that showed natural BP changes and a significant increase in BP during the 3-year period (p<0,05). Furthermore, there was a significant weight loss in the intervention group as compared to the control one. In the long-term follow-up, lower salt consumption significantly reduces SBP and DBP in the men and women with high normal BP as compared with the control group.