Salt reduction policy ‘could save millions of lives worldwide’

Simple policies to reduce salt intake on a global basis could have a significant impact on worldwide health standards, according to a new study.

Conducted by a team of US and UK-based researchers led by Tufts University in Boston, the research aimed to measure the cost-effectiveness of a soft regulation strategy combining targeted industry agreements and public education to reduce salt intake by ten percent over a decade in 183 countries.

It was estimated that this intervention would help to avert approximately 5.8 million disability-adjusted life years annually related to cardiovascular diseases, with a cost effectiveness ratio that compared favourably to many drugs used to prevent these conditions.

Currently, most adults exceed the World Health Organization-recommended maximum salt intake of two grams per day, resulting in an estimated 1.65 million annual deaths from heart disease worldwide.

The researchers said their findings "provide evidence that a national policy for reduction in sodium intake is highly cost effective, and substantially more so than even highly cost-effective medical prevention strategies".

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