Table 3.
Nested cohort by urinary sodium to potassium (Na:K) ratio, low, medium and high groups, WHO – SAGE Ghana Wave 3 (2019)
| Characteristics | Low Na: K (< 2) n = 399 |
Medium Na: K (2–5) n = 389 |
High Na: K (> 5) n = 41 |
p value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age yrs | 60 (18) | 61 (19) | 58 (22) | 0.44 |
| Sex male, n (%) |
n = 399 139 (34.8) |
n = 389 116 (29.8) |
n = 41 12 (29.3) |
0.29 |
| Ethnicity n (%) | n = 397 | n = 387 | n = 41 | < 0.01 |
| Akan | 229 (57.7) | 246 (63.6) | 17 (41.5) | |
| Ga | 5 (1.3) | 29 (7.5) | 10 (24.4) | |
| Ewe | 31 (7.8) | 23 (5.9) | 1 (2.4) | |
| Mole-dagbon | 13 (3.3) | 11 (2.8) | 0 (0.0) | |
| Mole-busanga | 2 (0.5) | 1 (0.3) | 0 (0.0) | |
| Grusi | 7 (3.0) | 5 (1.3) | 0 (0.0) | |
| Guan | 12 (3.0) | 4 (1.0) | 0 (0.0) | |
| Gruma | 3 (0.8) | 3 (0.8) | 0 (0.0) | |
| Other | 95 (23.9) | 65 (16.8) | 173 (21) | |
| Urban n (%) |
n = 398 183 (46.0) |
n = 389 240 (61.7) |
n = 41 26 (63.4) |
< 0.01 |
| Education (years) |
n = 253 10 (4) |
n = 267 10 (5) |
n = 26 10 (6) |
0.51 |
| BMI kg/m2 |
n = 387 24.8 (7.0) |
n = 364 25.7 (7.4) |
n = 39 28.1 (8.2) |
0.04 |
| Salt intake g/d |
n = 398 7.5 (7.4)ab |
n = 384 8.6 (6.6)ac |
n = 40 13.9 (11.9)bc |
< 0.01 |
| K intake, mmol/d |
n = 399 93.4 (97.8)ab |
n = 389 49.5 (38.7)b |
n = 41 38.2 (38.4)a |
< 0.01 |
| Na: K |
n = 399 1.4 (0.6)ab |
n = 389 3.0 (1.3)ac |
n = 41 5.5 (1.3)bc |
< 0.01 |
| Urinary iodine excretion, mmol/day |
n = 383 129.7 (116.0)a |
n = 370 153.9 (164.4) |
n = 40 146.9 (193.9)a |
< 0.01 |
| Systolic BP, mmHg |
n = 398 126 (26) |
n = 385 126 (32.0) |
n = 40 125 (34.0) |
0.03 |
| Diastolic BP, mmHg |
n = 398 77 (17.0) |
n = 385 75 (17.0) |
n = 40 77 (18.0) |
0.25 |
| Pulse pressure, mmHg |
n = 398 48 (16.6) |
n = 385 51 (17.0) |
n = 40 51.7 (15.0) |
0.26 |
| Mean Arterial Pressure (MAP), mmHg |
n = 399 93.7 (18.8) |
n = 387 92.5 (21.2) |
n = 41 91.7 (25.3) |
0.61 |
| Hypertension Prevalence, n (%) |
n = 398 170 (42.7) |
n = 387 178 (46.0) |
n = 40 18 (45.0) |
0.65 |
| Hypertension awareness, n (% of hypertension prevalence) |
n = 170 102 (60.0) |
n = 178 106 (59.6) |
n = 18 11 (61.1) |
0.10 |
| AHT, current use n (% of hypertension awareness) |
n = 102 65 (63.7) |
n = 106 79 (74.8) |
n = 11 7 (63.6) |
0.22 |
| Hypertension control, n (% of AHT) |
n = 63 33 (52.5) |
n = 78 40 (51.3) |
n = 7 3 (42.9) |
0.89 |
| Stroke, n (%) |
n = 399 11 (2.8) |
n = 389 7 (1.8) |
n = 41 0 (0.0) |
0.45 |
| Diabetes, n (%) |
n = 399 34 (8.5) |
n = 389 30 (7.7) |
n = 41 2 (4.9) |
0.69 |
| Tobacco use, n (%) |
n = 399 45 (11.3) |
n = 389 34 (8.7) |
n = 41 0 (0.0) |
0.05 |
| Alcohol use, n (%) |
n = 399 160 (40.1) |
n = 389 172 (44.2) |
n = 41 19 (46.3) |
0.44 |
| Fruits and Veg., met recommendation n (%) |
n = 399 212 (53.1) |
n = 389 203 (52.2) |
n = 41 24 (58.5) |
0.74 |
| Frequently add salt to food at the table, n (%) |
n = 399 52 (13) |
n = 389 48 (12.3) |
n = 41 6 (14.6) |
0.88 |
| Frequently add salt to cooking at home, n (%) |
n = 399 320 (80.0) |
n = 389 311 (79.9) |
n = 41 33 (80.5) |
0.30 |
| Believes that they are eating just the right amount of salt n (%) |
n = 397 247 (62.2) |
n = 387 231 (59.7) |
n = 41 24 (58.5) |
0.48 |
| Believes a high salt diet can cause a serious health problem, n (%) |
n = 389 304 (78.1) |
n = 375 311 (82.9) |
n = 40 30 (75.0) |
0.18 |
| Does something to control salt consumption, n (%) |
n = 389 166 (42.7) |
n = 375 209 (55.7) |
n = 39 15 (61.5) |
< 0.01 |
Data are presented as median (IQR, interquartile range) unless otherwise stated. BMI, body; hypertension prevalence, BP ≥ 140/90 or previous diagnosis; AHT, antihypertensive medication 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