Table 2.
Nested cohort by salt excretion levels, low, medium and high salt groups, WHO – SAGE Ghana Wave 3 (2019)
| Characteristics | Low salt < 5 g/d (n = 186) |
Medium salt 5-9 g/d (n = 269) |
High salt > 9 g/d (n = 378) |
p value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age yrs | 64 (20) | 60 (17) | 58 (18) | < 0.01 |
| Sex male, n (%) |
n = 185 73 (39.5) |
n = 269 90 (33.5) |
n = 378 105 (27.8) |
0.02 |
| Ethnicity n (%) | n = 184 | n = 268 | n = 376 | 0.03 |
| Akan | 122 (66.3) | 168 (62.7) | 203 (54.0) | |
| Ga | 7 (3.8) | 11 (4.1) | 27 (7.2) | |
| Ewe | 14 (7.6) | 18 (6.7) | 24 (6.4) | |
| Mole-dagbon | 5 (2.7) | 6 (2.2) | 13 (3.5) | |
| Mole-busanga | 1 (0.5) | 0 (0.0) | 2 (0.5) | |
| Grusi | 3 (1.6) | 3 (1.1) | 6 (1.6) | |
| Guan | 0 (0.0%) | 11 (4.1%) | 5 (1.3) | |
| Gruma | 1 (0.5) | 3 (1.1) | 2 (0.5) | |
| Other | 31 (16.8) | 48 (17.9) | 94 (25.0) | |
| Urban n (%) |
n = 185 102 (55.1) |
n = 269 149 (55.4) |
n = 378 200 (52.9) |
0.79 |
| Education (years) |
n = 118 10 (5) |
n = 179 10 (3) |
n = 250 10 (5) |
0.07 |
| BMI, kg/m2 |
n = 179 23.8 (6.5)a |
n = 258 25.5 (7.8) |
n = 356 26.2 (7.5)a |
< 0.01 |
| Salt intake g/d |
n = 186 3.6 (1.5)ab |
n = 269 6.7 (2.0)ac |
n = 371 13.4 (8.9)bc |
< 0.01 |
| K intake, mmol/d |
n = 186 32.0 (25.8)ab |
n = 269 54.9 (43.8)ac |
n = 378 112.3 (115.8)bc |
< 0.01 |
| Na: K |
n = 186 1.7 (1.2)ab |
n = 269 2.0 (1.4)ac |
n = 378 2.3 (1.9)bc |
< 0.01 |
| Urinary iodine excretion, mmol/day |
n = 150 166.2 (168.5)b |
n = 211 148.2 (131.4)a |
n = 292 117.6 (132.8)ab |
< 0.01 |
| Systolic BP, mmHg |
n = 186 129 (31.0) |
n = 266 126 (31.0) |
n = 375 126.5 (29.0) |
0.73 |
| Diastolic BP, mmHg |
n = 188 76 (18.0) |
n = 270 75.5 (17) |
n = 379 77.5 (117.0) |
0.68 |
| Pulse pressure, mmHg |
n = 186 50.5 (16.7) |
n = 266 49.5 (17.6) |
n = 375 49.5 (16) |
0.20 |
| Mean Arterial Pressure (MAP), mmHg |
n = 185 94.2 (21.3) |
n = 266 110 (41.0) |
n = 376 93.5 (19.4) |
0.85 |
| Hypertension Prevalence, n (%) |
n = 186 94 (50.5) |
n = 268 110 (41.0) |
n = 378 166 (44.3) |
0.13 |
| Hypertension awareness, n (% of hypertension prevalence) |
n = 94 51 (54.8) |
n = 110 62 (55.4) |
n = 166 108 (65.1) |
0.16 |
| Hypertension medication, current use n (% of hypertension awareness) |
n = 51 31 (60.8) |
n = 62 47 (75.8) |
n = 108 74 (68.5) |
0.23 |
| Hypertension control, n (% of Hypertension medication) |
n = 31 16 (51.6) |
n = 47 22 (46.8) |
n = 74 39 (52.7) |
0.82 |
| Stroke, n (%) |
n = 185 6 (3.2) |
n = 269 6 (2.2) |
n = 378 6 (1.6) |
0.44 |
| Diabetes, n (%) |
n = 185 10 (5.4) |
n = 269 24 (8.9) |
n = 378 32 (8.5) |
0.37 |
| Tobacco use, n (%) |
n = 182 25 (13.7) |
n = 269 25 (9.3) |
n = 378 29 (7.7) |
0.72 |
| Alcohol use, n (%) |
n = 182 80 (44.0) |
n = 269 115 (42.8) |
n = 378 156 (41.3) |
0.82 |
| Fruits and Veg., met recommendation n (%) |
n = 186 97 (52.2) |
n = 269 152 (56.5) |
n = 378 193 (51.1) |
0.38 |
| Frequently adds salt to food at the table, n (%) |
n = 158 24 (13) |
n = 269 35 (13) |
n = 279 (12.4) |
0.65 |
| Frequently adds salt to cooking at home, n (%) |
n = 185 149 (80.5) |
n = 296 225 (83.6) |
n = 378 291 (77) |
0.05 |
| Believe that they are eating just the right amount of salt n (%) |
n = 185 105 (56.8) |
n = 267 169 (63.3) |
n = 376 228 (60.6) |
0.18 |
| Believe a high salt diet can cause a serious health problem, n (%) |
n = 180 144 (80.0) |
n = 259 207 (79.9) |
n = 368 296 (80.4) |
0.99 |
| Does something to control salt consumption, n (%) |
n = 183 82 (44.8) |
n = 260 126 (48.5) |
n = 363 182 (50.1) |
0.50 |
Data are presented as median (IQR, interquartile range) unless otherwise stated. BMI, body; hypertension prevalence, BP ≥ 140/90 or previous diagnosis; Current use of hypertension medication represents current use in the last 2 weeks; BMI, body mass index; tobacco use by self-report; alcohol use by self-report; met fruits and vegetable recommendation indicates consumed five or more servings of fruits and vegetables a day; salt behaviour responses, frequently indicates ‘always’ and ‘often’; continuous variables compared using Independent Kruskal-Wallis Test and categorical variables compared using Pearson Chi-Square Test and Fisher’s Exact Test. a, b, c; sig at p < 0.05