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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BHNRC) » Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center » Food Surveys Research Group » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #294355

Title: Assessing U.S. sodium intake through dietary data and urine biomarkers

Author
item COGSWELL, MARY - Centers For Disease Control And Prevention (CDC) - United States
item ELLIOTT, PAUL - Imperial College
item WANG, CHIA-YIH - National Center For Health Statistics
item Rhodes, Donna
item PFEIFFER, CHRISTINE - Centers For Disease Control And Prevention (CDC) - United States
item LORIA, CATHERINE - National Institutes Of Health (NIH)

Submitted to: Advances in Nutrition
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/22/2013
Publication Date: 9/13/2013
Citation: Cogswell, M.E., Elliott, P., Wang, C., Rhodes, D.G., Pfeiffer, C.M., Loria, C.M. 2013. Assessing U.S. sodium intake through dietary data and urine biomarkers. Advances in Nutrition. 4:560-562. DOI: 10.3945/AN.113.004309.

Interpretive Summary: Efforts targeting sodium reduction make regular population monitoring of dietary sodium intake vital. Although 24-hour urine collection is the recommended method of measuring sodium intake, the expense and burden can be prohibitive. Limited information exists on the accuracy of estimating population 24-hour urinary excretion of sodium from spot urine samples or sodium intake from dietary recalls; however, both show promise for monitoring trends in average United States sodium intake. Regardless of the assessment method, current estimates indicate average United States sodium intake remains high.

Technical Abstract: Sodium intake is directly related to blood pressure, a primary risk factor for heart disease and stroke. Reducing intake is estimated to save billions in U.S. health care dollars annually. Current public health recommendations and efforts targeting sodium reductions make accurate monitoring of population sodium intake vital. Yet, limited information exists on the accuracy of currently collected data to assess sodium intake in the U.S. population, i.e., 24-hour dietary recalls and spot (casual) urine samples. This symposium focused on results from studies comparing 24-hour urinary calibration excretion to spot urine samples and recent analyses of previously collected data on sodium intake and excretion. New analyses and data were presented on the accuracy of estimating population 24-hour urinary excretion of sodium from spot (casual) urine specimens or 24-hour dietary recalls. Differences in accuracy by sex, body mass index, and race were apparent, as well as by timing of collection when using spot urine samples. Although some published equations appear promising for estimating group means, others are biased. Individual estimates of sodium intake were highly variable and adjustment for within-individual day-to-day variation in intake is required for estimating population prevalence or percentiles. Estimates indicated U.S. sodium intake has not declined and remains high.