Influence of sodium consumption and associated knowledge on poststroke hypertension in Uganda

Objective: We assessed 24-hour urine sodium levels as an index of dietary salt consumption and its association with dietary salt knowledge and hypertension among poststroke patients with and without a history of hypertension in Uganda.

Methods: A case-control study in which poststroke patients with a history of hypertension (cases, n = 123) were compared to poststroke patients without known hypertension (controls, n = 112). Dietary salt intake was assessed by 24-hour urine sodium, a valid measure of dietary salt consumption. Dietary salt knowledge was determined by questionnaire. The independent relationships among salt knowledge, 24-hour urine sodium, and blood pressure control were assessed using multiple regression analysis.

Results: High 24-hour urine sodium (≥8.5 g/d) was 2 times more prevalent among hypertensive poststroke patients than controls (p = 0.002). Patients with minimal poststroke disability who had a choice in determining their diets had higher urine sodium than their more disabled counterparts. Only 43% of the study population had basic dietary salt knowledge, 39% had adequate diet-disease–related knowledge, and 37% had procedural knowledge (report of specific steps being taken to reduce salt consumption). Dietary salt knowledge was similarly poor among cases and controls (p = 0.488) and was not related to education level (p = 0.205).

Conclusions: High urine sodium and high salt-diet preferences were more frequent among poststroke hypertensive patients in Uganda than in their nonhypertensive counterparts. There was, however, no difference in dietary salt knowledge between these groups. The development of educational strategies that include salt-diet preferences may lead to better blood pressure control in this high-risk population.