Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comparative Study
. 2008 Sep 8;168(16):1740-6.
doi: 10.1001/archinte.168.16.1740.

Association between blood pressure responses to the cold pressor test and dietary sodium intervention in a Chinese population

Jing Chen  1 , Dongfeng Gu, Cashell E Jaquish, Chung-Shiuan Chen, D C Rao, Depei Liu, James E Hixson, L Lee Hamm, C Charles Gu, Paul K Whelton, Jiang He; GenSalt Collaborative Research Group
Collaborators, Affiliations
Comparative Study

Association between blood pressure responses to the cold pressor test and dietary sodium intervention in a Chinese population

Jing Chen et al. Arch Intern Med. .

Abstract

Background: Blood pressure (BP) responses to the cold pressor test (CPT) and to dietary sodium intake might be related to the risk of hypertension. We examined the association between BP responses to the CPT and to dietary sodium and potassium interventions.

Methods: The CPT and dietary intervention were conducted among 1906 study participants in rural China. The dietary intervention included three 7-day periods of low sodium intake (3 g/d of salt [sodium chloride] [51.3 mmol/d of sodium]), high sodium intake (18 g/d of salt [307.8 mmol/d of sodium]), and high sodium intake plus potassium chloride supplementation (60 mmol/d). A total of 9 BP measurements were obtained during the 3-day baseline observation and the last 3 days of each intervention using a random-zero sphygmomanometer.

Results: Blood pressure response to the CPT was significantly associated with BP changes during the sodium and potassium interventions (all P < .001). Compared with the lowest quartile of BP response to the CPT (quartile 1), systolic BP changes (95% confidence intervals) for the quartiles 2, 3, and 4 were -2.02 (-2.87 to -1.16) mm Hg, -3.17 (-4.05 to -2.28) mm Hg, and -5.98 (-6.89 to -5.08) mm Hg, respectively, during the low-sodium intervention. Corresponding systolic BP changes during the high-sodium intervention were 0.40 (-0.36 to 1.16) mm Hg, 0.44 (-0.35 to 1.22) mm Hg, and 2.30 (1.50 to 3.10) mm Hg, respectively, and during the high-sodium plus potassium supplementation intervention were -0.26 (-0.99 to 0.46) mm Hg, -0.95 (-1.70 to -0.20) mm Hg, and -1.59 (-2.36 to -0.83) mm Hg, respectively.

Conclusions: These results indicate that BP response to the CPT was associated with salt sensitivity and potassium sensitivity. Furthermore, a low-sodium or high-potassium diet might be more effective to lower BP among individuals with high responses to the CPT.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Cold pressor test at baseline examination and dietary sodium and potassium intervention programs of the GenSalt study
Figure 2
Figure 2
Age-sex-adjusted mean systolic blood pressure responses to low-sodium, high-sodium and potassium-supplementation by quartiles of area-under-curve of systolic blood pressure response to the cold pressor test (upper panel) and diastolic blood pressure response to dietary interventions by quartiles of area-under-curve of diastolic blood pressure response to the cold pressor test (lower panel)
Figure 3
Figure 3
Age-sex-adjusted prevalence of high salt-sensitivity or high potassium-sensitivity defined as a systolic blood pressure change in the top 30th percentile during the dietary sodium and potassium intervention among all study participants according to quartiles of area-under-curve of blood pressure responses to the cold pressor test
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

References

    1. Hajjar I, Kotchen TA. Trends in prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control of hypertension in the United States, 1988–2000. JAMA. 2003;290:199–206. - PubMed
    1. Kearney PM, Whelton M, Reynolds K, Muntner P, Whelton PK, He J. Global burden of hypertension: analysis of worldwide data. Lancet. 2005;365:217–23. - PubMed
    1. He J, Whelton PK. Salt intake, hypertension and risk of cardiovascular disease: an important public health challenge. Int J Epidemiol. 2002;31:327–31. - PubMed
    1. Jones DW. Dietary sodium and blood pressure. Hypertension. 2004;43:932–5. - PubMed
    1. Whelton PK, He J, Cutler JA, Brancati FL, Appel LJ, Follmann D, Klag MJ. Effects of oral potassium on blood pressure. Meta-analysis of randomized controlled clinical trials. JAMA. 1997;277:1624–32. - PubMed

Publication types