Sodium intake and high blood pressure risk in people
What it found
In 11 studies that followed people over time, higher sodium intake was linked to a higher risk of high blood pressure, with the risk rising from 3 g per day.
The link looked almost straight-line across the whole range of sodium when the studies measured sodium in urine over 24 hours and had a low risk of bias.
What they found
Studies in people
Risk starts at 3 g/day
Compared with 2 g per day, the risk of high blood pressure was higher from 3 g per day onwards.
Almost straight-line link
When the analysis was limited to studies that used 24-hour urine sodium and had a low risk of bias, the link between sodium and high blood pressure was almost a straight line across the whole range of sodium.
Both groups of adults
The findings applied to adults with normal blood pressure and to adults who already had high blood pressure.
What the authors conclude
“This review confirms prior findings based on experimental studies and identified an almost linear relationship between sodium intake/excretion and hypertension risk in cohort studies, reinforcing the validity of recommendations to prevent cardiovascular disease through the reduction of sodium intake in both normotensive and hypertensive adults.”
Also in their conclusions
- They say the review confirms earlier findings from experimental studies.
- They say the almost straight-line relationship reinforces the validity of recommendations to prevent cardiovascular disease by reducing sodium intake in both normotensive and hypertensive adults.
How it was done
The authors wanted to check the relationship between sodium intake and the risk of high blood pressure using studies that followed people over time, and to see whether the risk changes with the amount of sodium.
They reviewed cohort studies published up to January 21, 2022, and ran a dose-response analysis on 11 of them. The reference point was a sodium intake or urine sodium excretion of 2 g per day.
What it can’t tell you
- We summarised it from the abstract only.
- These studies followed people over time, so they can show a link between sodium and high blood pressure but cannot prove that sodium causes it.
- The review cannot rule out that other things about the people studied, or how sodium was measured, affected the results.
Who paid
- Funding
- Funded by NIGMS NIH HHS (from the PubMed record).
- Authors work at
- University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Italy; Tulane University, USA; Boston University School of Public Health, USA
The paper
- Title
- Sodium Intake and Risk of Hypertension: A Systematic Review and Dose-Response Meta-analysis of Observational Cohort Studies
- Type
- Systematic review and meta-analysisThe authors follow a set, published method to find every relevant study, then combine the numbers from them into one result.
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Abstract only
- Cite
- Filippini T, Malavolti M, Whelton PK, Vinceti M (2022). Sodium Intake and Risk of Hypertension: A Systematic Review and Dose-Response Meta-analysis of Observational Cohort Studies. Current hypertension reports. doi:10.1007/s11906-022-01182-9PubMed 35246796DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error