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. 2022 Sep 16;14(18):3817.
doi: 10.3390/nu14183817.

Sodium, Potassium and Iodine Intake in an Adult Population of Lithuania

Urte Zakauskiene  1   2 , Ernesta Macioniene  1   2 , Lina Zabuliene  1 , Diana Sukackiene  1   2 , Ausra Linkeviciute-Dumce  2 , Valdas Banys  3 , Nomeda Bratcikoviene  3   4 , Dovile Karosiene  2 , Virginija Slekiene  5 , Virginijus Kontrimas  6 , Kazys Simanauskas  1   2 , Algirdas Utkus  3 , Deimante Brazdziunaite  3 , Vilma Migline  7 , Indre Makarskiene  8 , Ingrida Zurlyte  9 , Ivo Rakovac  10 , Joao Breda  11 , Francesco P Cappuccio  12   13 , Marius Miglinas  1   2
Affiliations

Sodium, Potassium and Iodine Intake in an Adult Population of Lithuania

Urte Zakauskiene et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

Hypertension is a leading risk factor for cardiovascular events and death. A reduction in salt intake is among the most cost-effective strategies to reduce blood pressure and the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Increasing potassium lowers blood pressure and is associated with lower cardiovascular risk. Adequate iodine intake is important to prevent iodine deficiency disorders. Salt iodization is a key strategy to prevent such deficiency. In Lithuania, no surveys have been performed to directly assess sodium, potassium and iodine consumption. The aim of the present study was to measure sodium, potassium and iodine intake in a randomly selected adult Lithuanian adult population using 24 h urine collections, and to assess knowledge, attitudes and behavior towards salt consumption. Salt and potassium intakes were estimated in 888 randomly selected participants by 24 h urine sodium and potassium excretion and 679 individuals provided suitable 24 h urine samples for the analysis of iodine excretion. Average salt intake was 10.0 (SD 5.3) g/24 h and average potassium intake was 3.3 (SD 1.3) g/24 h. Only 12.5% of participants consumed less than 5 g/24 h of salt. The median value of urinary iodine concentration (UIC) was 95.5 μg/L. Our study showed that average salt intake is twice as high as the maximum level recommended by the World Health Organization while potassium and iodine intakes in Lithuania are below the recommended levels.

Keywords: 24 h urine collection; Lithuania; iodine; population; potassium; salt; sodium.

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Conflict of interest statement

F.P.C. is a technical advisor to the World Health Organization, an unpaid member of Action on Salt and WASH and the Past-President of the British and Irish Hypertension Society. J.B. and I.R. are staff members of the WHO Regional Office for Europe, and I.Z. works in the WHO Country Office of Lithuania. M.M. is the President of the Lithuanian Hypertension Society and the Chairmen of the Lithuanian Kidney Foundation. Other authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study, in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results. The authors alone are responsible for the views expressed in this publication and they do not necessarily represent the views, decisions or stated policies of the institutions which they are affiliated.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Number of participants in each region.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Procedure for participant inclusion and exclusion to this study.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Distribution of single 24 h salt intake estimates.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Distribution of the sodium-to-potassium ratio.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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