Salt Consumption in Latvian Population: A Pilot Study

Background and objective: High dietary sodium intake is associated with multiple health risks, and the average sodium intake in Latvia is higher than the World Health Organization has recommended. In Latvia, no study so far has combined self-reported dietary data on sodium and potassium intake with objective measurements in 24-h urine samples. This pilot study aimed to cross-validate both methods and to assess any possible factors interfering with the collection of samples and data in large, population-based future studies of sodium and potassium intake in Latvian adults. Materials and methods: A stratified random sample of healthy Latvian adults aged 19–64 (n = 30) was drawn. Dietary data of sodium and potassium was collected using one 24-h dietary recall and a two-day food diary. Sodium and potassium excretion was measured by one 24-h urinary collection. Results: Median intake of sodium and potassium based on dietary data was 2276.4 mg/day (interquartile range (IQR), 1683.3–3979.4) and 2172.0 mg/day (IQR, 1740.6–3506.5), respectively. Median intake of sodium and potassium based on urinary data was 3500.3 mg/day (IQR, 2191.0–5535.0) and 2965.4 mg/day (IQR, 2530.2–3749.9), respectively. Urinary data showed significantly higher results than dietary records (Wilcoxon signed rank test, p = 0.023). Only 13% of the subjects did not exceed the WHO-recommended limit of 2000 mg of sodium per day, and only 33% consumed at least the recommended allowance of 3510 mg of potassium per day. Median intake of salt was 8.8 g/day (IQR, 5.5–13.8) (according to urinary data). Conclusions: The findings from the present study showed considerable underestimation of dietary sodium and potassium intake based on self-reported dietary data. Urinary data revealed more accurate results, and showed that Latvian adults exceed the amount of salt recommended and consume less potassium than recommended. The pilot study also showed that the chosen methods are adequate for implementation in large, population-based studies to evaluate dietary intake of salt, sodium, and potassium in populations of Latvian adults.