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. 2023 Mar 30;3(2):oead024.
doi: 10.1093/ehjopen/oead024. eCollection 2023 Mar.

The association between sodium intake and coronary and carotid atherosclerosis in the general Swedish population

Jonas Wuopio  1   2 , Yi-Ting Ling  1   3 , Marju Orho-Melander  4 , Gunnar Engström  4 , Johan Ärnlöv  1   2   5
Affiliations

The association between sodium intake and coronary and carotid atherosclerosis in the general Swedish population

Jonas Wuopio et al. Eur Heart J Open. .

Erratum in

Abstract

Aims: A high intake of salt raises blood pressure and the risk of cardiovascular disease. Previous studies have reported on the association between salt intake and carotid stenosis, but the association with coronary atherosclerosis has not been reported. Therefore, this project aimed at studying the association between salt intake and both carotid and coronary atherosclerosis in a contemporary community-based cohort.

Methods and results: Estimated 24-h sodium excretion (est24hNa) was calculated by the Kawasaki formula for participants of two sites (Uppsala and Malmö) of the Swedish Cardiopulmonary bioImage Study, who underwent a coronary computed tomography (n = 9623) and measurement of coronary artery calcium score (CACS, n = 10 289). Carotid ultrasound was used to detect carotid plaques (n = 10 700). Ordered logistic regression was used to calculate odds ratios (OR) per 1000 mg increase in est24hNa. We also investigated potential J-formed associations using quintiles of est24hNa. Increased est24hNa was associated with increased occurrence of carotid plaques [OR: 1.09, P < 0.001, confidence interval (CI): 1.06-1.12], higher CACS (OR: 1.16, P < 0.001, CI: 1.12-1.19), and coronary artery stenosis (OR: 1.17, P < 0.001, CI: 1.13-1.20) in minimal adjusted models. Associations were abolished when adjusting for blood pressure. When adjusting for established cardiovascular risk factors (not including blood pressure), associations remained for carotid plaques but not for coronary atherosclerosis. There was no evidence of J-formed associations.

Conclusion: Higher est24hNa was associated with both coronary and carotid atherosclerosis in minimal adjusted models. The association seemed mainly mediated by blood pressure but to some degree also influenced by other established cardiovascular risk factors.

Keywords: Atherosclerosis; Cardiovascular disease; Hypertension; Salt; Sodium.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest: J.Ä. declares that he has received lecturing fees from AstraZeneca and Novartis and has served on advisory boards for AstraZeneca and Boehringer Ingelheim, unrelated to the present study. None of the other authors have any conflicts of interest to declare.

Figures

Graphical Abstract
Graphical Abstract
Figure 1
Figure 1
CONSORT flow chart of the included and excluded participants from Swedish Cardiopulmonary bioImage Study.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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