Figure 1.

Direct comparisons of effect of sodium intake of <2 versus >2 g per day, <1.2 versus >1.2 g per day, and a reduction by one-third or more versus less than one-third relative to control on systolic blood pressure in adults. The meta-analysis of three comparisons showed a significant decrease in systolic blood pressure by 3.47 mm Hg (0.76–6.18 mm Hg) and diastolic blood pressure by1.81 mm Hg (0.54–3.08 mm Hg) when sodium intake was <2 g per day compared with ⩾2 g per day. There was only one comparison of <1.2 versus ⩾1.2 g per day and it reported a nonsignificant decrease in systolic blood pressure of 8.00 mm Hg (−1.73 to 17.73 mm Hg) and diastolic blood pressure of 4.00 mm Hg (−1.58 to 9.58 mm Hg). When the relative reduction in sodium intake was one-third or more of control compared with less than one-third of control, the meta-analysis of two comparisons detected a significant decrease in systolic blood pressure by 3.14 mm Hg (0.30–5.98 mm Hg) and diastolic blood pressure by 1.70 mm Hg (0.33–3.07 mm Hg). Reproduced from ref. ¹⁸ Effect of lower sodium intake on health: systematic review and meta-analyses.346: f1326. ©2013 with permission from BMJ Publishing Group.