Salt and Heart Health

Increased salt consumption by patients with diabetes constitutes a common risk for the health of the heart. Clinical guidelines recommend that people with type 2 diabetes should have a reduced dietary sodium intake. Researchers from the University of Niigata Prefecture (Japan) examined the role of dietary sodium intake in patients with type 2 diabetes and the incidence of disease complications. The study involved people aged 40 to 70 years who had been diagnosed with diabetes. The researchers monitored cardiovascular complications over an eight-year follow-up period. Analysis of the data revealed that patients who consumed an average of 5.9 grams of sodium per day had twice the risk of developing cardiovascular disease, compared with those who consumed an average of 2.8 grams of sodium per day. In addition, the effects of a high-sodium diet have been shown to worsen blood sugar control. The authors conclude that: "High dietary sodium intake is associated with an increased incidence of cardiovascular disease in patients with type 2 diabetes. Also, it has been revealed a synergistic effect between glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) values ​​and dietary sodium intake for the development of cardiovascular disease".

Horiakwa C, Yoshimura Y, Kamada C, Tanaka S, Tanaka S, Hanyu O, et al; Japan Diabetes Complications Study Group.  Dietary Sodium Intake and Incidence of Diabetes Complications in Japanese Patients with Type 2 Diabetes - Analysis of the Japan Diabetes Complications Study (JDCS).  J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2014, Jul 22