Excessive salt intake, high blood pressure and population salt reduction
What it found
Eating too much salt is linked to high blood pressure, which is estimated to cause around 5 million deaths a year worldwide.
Salt-reduction programmes at population level have been the most effective at lowering blood pressure.
What they found
Studies in people
Blood pressure link
Excessive salt intake is associated with high blood pressure. This effect likely drives cardiovascular illness and death.
Deaths worldwide
Excessive salt intake is estimated to cause around 5 million deaths per year worldwide.
Salt reduction works
Salt-reduction interventions lower blood pressure.
Animal and lab studies
Mechanisms in animals
Animal research has found various ways high salt intake drives disease in the kidney, brain, blood vessels and immune system. Many of these pathways have not yet been tested as targets for treatment.
Other findings
Hidden salt
For most people, salt hidden in processed foods means salt intake is not under their direct control. Growing inequalities in food systems add another hurdle to individuals controlling their salt intake.
Population approaches
The most effective salt-reduction interventions have been at population level. They involve multiple parts, including government, education and the food industry.
What the authors conclude
“The most effective salt-reduction interventions have been implemented at the population level and comprise multi-component approaches, involving government, education and the food industry.”
Also in their conclusions
- They note that the potential for therapeutic interventions in many of these pathways has yet to be tested.
- They say the most effective salt-reduction interventions have been implemented at the population level and comprise multi-component approaches, involving government, education and the food industry.
How it was done
Salt intake is a biological necessity woven into human physiology and culture, but too much of it is tied to high blood pressure. That effect is thought to drive cardiovascular illness and death.
What it can’t tell you
- We summarised it from the abstract only.
- This is a review, so it cannot show cause and effect from a single controlled experiment.
- The animal findings cannot show what happens in people.
- The estimate of deaths worldwide is an estimate, not a measured count.
Who paid
- Funding
- Funded by Wellcome Trust; Medical Research Council; British Heart Foundation; Chief Scientist Office (from the PubMed record).
- Authors work at
- The University of Edinburgh, UK
The paper
- Title
- The impact of excessive salt intake on human health
- Type
- ReviewThe authors read earlier studies and describe what they found. It isn’t a new study.
- Evidence
- Studies in people · animals · lab
- Summarised from
- Abstract only
- Cite
- Hunter RW, Dhaun N, Bailey MA (2022). The impact of excessive salt intake on human health. Nature reviews. Nephrology. doi:10.1038/s41581-021-00533-0PubMed 35058650DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error