Spot Urine Formulas to Estimate 24-Hour Urinary Sodium Excretion Alter the Dietary Sodium and Blood Pressure Relationship

• Authors: Abu Mohd Naser, Emory University; Feng J He, Queen Mary University London; Mahbubur Rahman, International Center for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh; Norm RC Campbell, University of Calgary
• Journal Title: HYPERTENSION
• Volume: Volume 77, Number 6
• Publisher: LIPPINCOTT WILLIAMS & WILKINS | 2021-06-01, Pages 2127-2137
• Type of Work: Article | Final Publisher PDF
• Publisher DOI: http://doi.org/10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.120.16651
• Subjects: Health Sciences, Public Health; Health Sciences, Medicine and Surgery
• Keywords: Science & Technology; Life Sciences & Biomedicine; Peripheral Vascular Disease; Cardiovascular System & Cardiology; blood pressure; creatinine; minerals; potassium; sodium; POTASSIUM EXCRETION; SALT REDUCTION; HYPERTENSION; COLLECTION; RISK

Abstract

We evaluated the relationship between estimated 24-hour urinary sodium excretion from the Kawasaki, Tanaka, and INTERSALT (International Study of Sodium, Potassium, and Blood Pressure) formulas and blood pressure (BP). We pooled 10 034 person-visit data from 3 cohort studies in Bangladesh that had measured 24-hour urine sodium (m-24hUNa), potassium, creatinine excretion, and BP. We used m-24hUNa, potassium, and creatinine where necessary, rather than spot urine values in the formulas. Bland-Altman plots were used to determine the bias associated with formula-estimated sodium relative to m-24hUNa. We compared the sodium excretion and BP relationships from m-24hUNa versus formula-estimated sodium excretions, using restricted cubic spline plots for adjusted multilevel linear models. All formulas overestimated 24-hour sodium at lower levels but underestimated 24-hour sodium at higher levels. There was a linear relationship between m-24hUNa excretion and systolic BP, while estimated sodium excretion from all 3 formulas had a J-shaped relationship with systolic BP. The relationships between urine sodium excretion and diastolic BP were more complex but were also altered by using formulas. All formulas had associations with BP when a sex-specific constant sodium concentration was inserted in place of measured sodium. Since we used the m-24hUNa, potassium, and creatinine concentrations in formulas, the J-shaped relationships are due to intrinsic problems in the formulas, not due to spot urine sampling. Formula-estimated 24-hour urine sodium excretion should not be used to examine the relationship between sodium excretion and BP since they alter the real associations.