Sodium and potassium consumption in a semi-urban area in Peru: evaluation of a population-based 24-hour urine collection

Despite the negative effects of high sodium and low potassium consumption on cardiovascular health, their consumption has not been quantified in sites undergoing urbanization. We aimed to determine the sodium and potassium consumption in a semi-urban area in Peru with a cross-sectional study. 24-h urine samples were collected. The outcomes were mean consumption of sodium and potassium, as well as adherence to their consumption recommendation: <2 g/day and ≥3.51 g/day, respectively. Bivariate analyses were conducted to identify socio-economic and clinical variables associated with the consumption recommendations of 602 participants, complete urine samples were found in 409: mean age of participants was 45.7 (standard deviation (SD): 16.2) years and 56% were women. The mean sodium and potassium consumption was 4.4 (SD: 2.1) and 2.0 (SD: 1.2) g/day. The sodium and potassium recommendation was met by 7.1% and 13.7% of the study sample; none of the participants met both recommendations. People not adherent to the sodium recommendation had higher diastolic (73.1 mmHg vs. 68.2 mmHg, p = 0.015) and systolic (113.1 mmHg vs. 106.3 mmHg, p = 0.047) blood pressure than those who comply with the recommendation. Public health actions ought to be implemented in areas undergoing urbanization to improve sodium and potassium consumption at the population level.