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. 2018 Apr 30;8:6727. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-25097-1

Table 1.

Characteristics of the eligible participants in the Sodium and Potassium Study from PURE-China Cohort.

Characteristics % (n)
Total (n = 41,475) Heavy-salt regions1 (n = 16,882) Moderate-salt regions1 (n = 12,851) Low-salt regions1 (n = 11,742)
Female sex 59.2 (24,546) 60.1 (10,153) 56.8 (7,295) 60.5 (7,098)
Age at recruitment (years, mean ± STD) 51.4 ± 9.4 52.3 ± 8.9 50.9 ± 9.6 50.5 ± 9.8
Education level
    Less than high school graduate 33.7 (13,973) 28.9 (4,870) 39.7 (5,104) 34.1 (3,999)
    High school graduate 57.3 (23,765) 64.7 (10,916) 53.2 (6,840) 51.2 (6,009)
    Some college or more 8.7 (3,608) 6.2 (1,040) 6.8 (868) 14.5 (1,700)
    Missing values 0.3 (129) 0.3 (56) 0.3 (39) 0.3 (34)
Body mass index (BMI, kg/m2, mean ± STD) 24.6 ± 4.0 24.8 ± 4.0 24.6 ± 3.8 24.5 ± 4.0
    <25 54.8 (22,723) 53.6 (9,054) 56.0 (7,190) 55.2 (6,479)
    25-29.9 35.4 (14,677) 36.2 (6,108) 35.32 (4,542) 34.3 (4,027)
     ≥ 30 7.1 (2,955) 7.8 (1,310) 6.4 (821) 7.0 (824)
Missing values 2.7 (1,120) 2.4 (410) 2.3 (298) 3.5 (412)
Waist-to-hip ratio (WHR, mean ± STD) 0.86 ± 0.07 0.86 ± 0.07 0.86 ± 0.06 0.86 ± 0.08
     > 0.9 for men or > 0.85 for women 42.5 (17,605) 41.8 (7,049) 44.2 (5,685) 41.5 (4,871)
Sodium excretion2 (g/day, mean ± STD) 5.7 ± 1.7 5.5 ± 1.6 6.1 ± 1.8 5.3 ± 1.6
    <3 3.5 (1,447) 3.8 (648) 1.9 (243) 4.7 (556)
    3-5 34.3 (14,211) 36.0 (6,082) 25.7 (3,299) 41.1 (4,830)
     > 5 62.3 (25,817) 60.1 (10,152) 72.4 (9,309) 54.1 (6,356)
Potassium excretion2 (g/day, mean ± STD) 2.1 ± 0.5 2.1 ± 0.5 2.1 ± 0.5 2.1 ± 0.5
    <1.9 36.5 (15,148) 37.7 (6,356) 34.8 (4,473) 36.8 (4,319)
    1.9-2.5 44.9 (18,625) 45.5 (7,675) 45.0 (5,778) 44.1 (5,172)
     > 2.5 18.6 (7,702) 16.9 (2,851) 20.2 (2,600) 19.2 (2,251)
Ratio for sodium vs. potassium2 (mean ± STD) 2.8 ± 0.8 2.7 ± 0.7 3.0 ± 0.8 2.6 ± 0.7
    <2.0 15.1 (6,244) 15.8 (2,660) 10.2 (1,314) 19.3 (2,270)
    2.0-3.0 51.7 (21,453) 52.6 (8,880) 46.8 (6,011) 55.9 (6,562)
     > 3.0 33.2 (13,778) 31.6 (5,342) 43.0 (5,526) 24.8 (2,910)
Creatinine excretion3 (g/day, mean ± STD) 1.2 ± 0.3 1.2 ± 0.3 1.3 ± 0.3 1.2 ± 0.3
Systolic blood pressure (mmHg, mean ± STD) 133.5 ± 22.0 132.3 ± 21.6 137.0 ± 22.5 131.2 ± 21.7
    <120 28.6 (11,856) 30.2 (5,097) 22.3 (2,864) 33.2 (3,895)
    120-139 38.0 (15,764) 38.2 (6,449) 38.8 (4,981) 36.9 (4,334)
     ≥ 140 33.4 (13,855) 31.6 (5,336) 39.0 (5,006) 29.9 (3,513)
Diastolic blood pressure (mmHg, mean ± STD) 82.8 ± 12.3 82.3 ± 11.9 84.1 ± 12.7 82.2 ± 12.2
    <60 1.3 (552) 1.3 (222) 1.4 (177) 1.3 (153)
    60-89 72.7 (30,148) 74.4 (12,556) 68.7 (8,828) 74.6 (8,764)
     ≥ 90 26.0 (10,775) 24.3 (4,104) 35.7 (3,846) 24.1 (2,825)
Self-reported hypertension or had blood pressure medication or blood pressure ≥ 140/90 mmHg
    No 56.8 (23,555) 57.2 (9,664) 52.6 (6,759) 60.7 (7,132)
    Yes 43.2 (17,920) 42.8 (7,218) 47.4 (6,092) 39.3 (4,610)
Self-reported diabetes or fasting glucose >7.0 mmol/L
    No 90.8 (37,661) 89.6 (15,124) 92.3 (11,862) 90.9 (10,675)
    Yes 9.2 (3,814) 10.4 (1,758) 7.7 (989) 9.1 (1,067)
Self-reported stroke
    No 97.9 (40,596) 97.7 (16,488) 98.1 (12,604) 98.0 (11,504)
    Yes 1.9 (785) 2.1 (362) 1.6 (200) 1.9 (223)
Missing values 0.2 (94) 0.2 (32) 0.4 (47) 0.1 (15)
Self-reported angina, heart attack or coronary artery diseases
    No 93.7 (38,855) 94.6 (15,968) 92.7 (11,915) 93.4 (10,972)
    Yes 6.3 (2620) 5.4 (914) 7.3 (936) 6.6 (770)
Tobacco use
    Never 72.3 (30,003) 69.3 (11,702) 77.4 (9,944) 71.2 (8,357)
    Former 4.7 (1,964) 4.4 (748) 3.6 (468) 6.4 (748)
    Current 21.8 (9,060) 24.6 (4,153) 18.4 (2,359) 21.7 (2,548)
    Missing values 1.1 (448) 1.7 (279) 0.6 (80) 0.8 (89)
Alcohol consumption
    Never 75.4 (31,290) 73.3 (12,376) 81.4 (10,454) 72.0 (8,460)
    Former 3.2 (1,329) 2.6 (433) 2.2 (285) 5.2 (611)
    Current 20.8 (8,620) 23.1 (3,902) 16.2 (2,081) 22.5 (2,637)
    Missing values 0.6 (236) 1.0 (171) 0.2 (31) 0.3 (34)
Levels of physical activities
    Low 12.2 (5,049) 12.1 (2,036) 13.7 (1,763) 10.7 (1,250)
    Medium 41.7 (17,311) 43.8 (7,398) 43.9 (5,646) 36.3 (4,267)
    High 41.6 (17,250) 40.8 (6,886) 37.2 (4,779) 47.6 (5,585)
Missing values 4.5 (1,865) 3.3 (562) 5.2 (663) 5.5 (640)
Total cholesterol (mmol/L, mean ± STD) 4.7 ± 1.0 4.7 ± 1.0 4.6 ± 1.0 4.8 ± 1.1
    ≥6.47 4.0 (1,642) 3.4 (576) 3.4 (442) 5.3 (624)
Triglycerides (mmol/L, mean ± STD) 1.6 ± 1.2 1.5 ± 1.2 1.6 ± 1.2 1.6 ± 1.1
    ≥4.50 2.4 (1,013) 2.5 (423) 2.6 (328) 2.2 (262)
LDL cholesterol (mmol/L, mean ± STD) 2.6 ± 0.8 2.6 ± 0.8 2.6 ± 0.8 2.6 ± 0.9
    >4.14 2.9 (1,199) 2.5 (427) 2.8 (362) 3.5 (410)
HDL cholesterol (mmol/L, mean ± STD) 1.4 ± 0.4 1.4 ± 0.4 1.3 ± 0.3 1.4 ± 0.4
    <0.91 8.8 (3,640) 9.2 (1,552) 10.3 (1,323) 6.5 (765)
Fasting glucose (mmol/L, mean ± STD) 5.6 ± 1.6 5.8 ± 1.5 5.1 ± 1.7 5.7 ± 1.4
    >7.00 7.6 (3,157) 8.7 (1,467) 6.1 (787) 7.7 (903)

Note: STD, standard deviance; LDL, low-density lipoprotein; HDL, high-density lipoprotein;

1Per National Diet Salt Intake in 200228, PURE-China centers were classified three salt-diet regions: heavy-salt regions (>8 grams of daily salt intake) included Beijing, Jiangsu Province, Jiangxi Province, and Liaoning Province; moderate-salt regions (7 to 8 grams) included Qinghai Province, Shaanxi Province, and Shandong Province; low-salt regions (<7 grams) included Inner Mongolia, Sichuan Province, and Yunnan Province, Shanxi Province, and Xinjiang Province.

2Estimated excretion was calculated by a fasting morning urine specimen on the basis of the Kawasaki formula18;

3Creatinine excretions were determined according to a formula including age, sex, weight, and height, which also was used in Kawasaki formula to estimate sodium and potassium excretion.