Study Finds That Limiting Salt Consumption Reduces Blood Pressure In Persons With Kidney Disease

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A recent study conducted on patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) found that limiting salt consumption led to reduced blood pressure. The researchers noted that their findings point to a practical way to potentially improve the health of CKD patients.

Although persons with CKD usually have hypertension and volume expansion, it is said that there is an increase in the total amount of fluid present in their body when they consume too much salt (sodium) or have impaired kidney function. The direct consequence of increased amount of fluid in the body is high blood pressure.

They added that reducing the volume expansion and blood pressure are necessary for slowing the rate of CKD progression. In order to check the impact of sodium restricted diet in achieving this, the researchers led by Rajiv Saran, MD of University of Michigan, Ann Arbor conducted a randomized crossover study. In the study, the researchers made a total of 58 adult participants with CKD to strictly follow a sodium restricted diet - less than 2g of sodium per day - or their usual diet for 4 weeks, according to Science Daily.

This was also followed by two weeks of washout period and then four weeks period when patients were made to cross over to the other diet. The study participants did not eat prepared low sodium meals during the sodium restriction phase, instead, they were provided with counseling every 2 weeks by dieticians using motivational interviewing techniques.

The researchers found that dietary sodium was reduced during the restriction phase in 79 percent of participants and sodium intake was reduced by more than 20 percent in 65 percent of participants. They also found that the participants experienced an average reduction of 11mmHg in systolic blood pressure with an average of 1-liter reduction in volume during the same phase.

"We found that reducing sodium in the diet helps to significantly reduce blood pressure and reduce the excess fluid retention that is common among patients with kidney disease," Dr. Saran said. The lead author of the study also added that the process did not require complicated pre-cooked meals.

He said it was mainly based on common sense advice from trained dieticians which aid in giving patients a better understanding of what it takes to reduce salt in their diets and the potential benefits of doing so. The researchers stressed that if the processed is applied diligently, sodium restriction could help patients with CKD take fewer blood pressure medications, according to Escience News.

The study is titled "A Randomized Crossover Trial of Dietary Sodium Restriction in Stage 3-4 Chronic Kidney Disease." The findings of the study appear in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (CJASN).

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