Table 2.
Sodium content per: (A) Dietary supplement effervescent tablet available in Germany, (B) dietary supplement effervescent tablet in the USA, (C) OTC effervescent tablet, (D) recommended daily dose of the included OTC effervescent tablets
| (A) Category | Sodium content (mg)/tablet mean±SD | % of the maximum recommended daily sodium intake* mean±SD |
| …all included products | 283.9±122.6 | 14±6 |
| …vitamin products | 378.3±112.8 | 19±6 |
| …magnesium products | 232.7±76.7 | 12±4 |
| …calcium products | 170.4±113.2 | 9±6 |
| …mineral products | 191.6±37.6 | 10±2 |
| …other products | 278.8±109.5 | 14±6 |
| (B) Category | Sodium content (mg)/tablet Median (IQR) |
% of the maximum recommended daily sodium intake* Median (IQR) |
| …all included products | 190.0 (100.0–250.0) | 10 (5–13) |
| …vitamin products | 100.0 (72.5–230.0) | 5 (4–12) |
| …mineral products | 250.0 (140.0–360.0) | 13 (7–18) |
| …energy products | 190.0 (150.0–260.0) | 10 (8–13) |
| …other products | 210.0 (158.8–256.3) | 11 (8–13) |
| (C) Category | Sodium content (mg)/tablet Median (IQR) |
% of the maximum recommended daily sodium intake* Median (IQR) |
| …all included drugs | 157.0 (98.9–417.3) | 8 (5–21) |
| …pain/common cold | 452.1 (351.3–474.0) | 23 (18–24) |
| …cough | 138.8 (112.8–157.9) | 7 (6–8) |
| …calcium/vitamin D | 87.0 (52.0–103.0) | 4 (3–5) |
| …other drugs | 267.0 (119.8–387.5) | 13 (6–19) |
| (D) Category | Sodium content (mg) of the maximum daily dose Median (IQR) |
% of the maximum recommended daily sodium intake* Median (IQR) |
| …all included drugs | 384.0 (139.0–1295.5) | 19 (7–65) |
| …pain/common cold | 2776.5 (1299.8–3333.0) | 139 (65–167) |
| …cough | 297.0 (144.5–427.0) | 15 (7–21) |
| …calcium/vitamin D | 104.0 (96.3–104.8) | 5 (5–5) |
| …other drugs | 801.0 (312.8–1155.5) | 40 (16–58) |
*Maximum recommended daily sodium intake according to WHO recommendations.8
OTC, over-the-counter.