TABLE 1.
Characteristics of included clinical trials
| Study | References | Design of study | Country | Number of patients in intervention group (IG) | Number of patients in control group (CG) | Male proportion | Mean age (years) | Salt type of salt substitute | Salt type of control group | Baseline SBP a /DBP b in the intervention group (mmHg) | Follow‐up duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baek and coworkers (2015) | 13 | Preliminary randomized, double‐blind clinical trial | Korea | 18 | 20 | 36.8% |
IG:79.5 CG:80.0 |
85.03% NaCl c , 1495 ppm calcium, 2494 ppm potassium, 8190 ppm magnesium |
99.8% NaCl | 127.5/ 74 | 8 weeks |
| Barros and coworkers (2015) | 14 | Single‐blind randomized controlled trial | Brazil | 19 | 16 | 34.3% | 55.5 |
130 mg of sodium, 346 mg of potassium, 44 mcg of iodine (per gram salt) |
390 mg of sodium, 25 mcg of iodine (per gram salt) |
134.47/ 77.95 | 4 weeks |
| Bernabe‐Ortiz and coworkers (2020) | 15 | Stepped‐wedge cluster randomized trial | Peru | Not Applicable | Not Applicable | 49.6% | 43.3 |
75% NaCl, 25% KCl d |
Common salt | Not Applicable | 3 years |
| Chang and coworkers (2006) | 16 | Randomized trial | Taiwan | 768 | 1213 | 100% |
IG:74.8 CG:74.9 |
49% NaCl, 49% KCl, 2% other additives |
99.6% NaCl, 0.4% other additives |
131.3/ 71.2 | Average 31 months |
| Charlton and coworkers (2008) | 17 | A double‐blind randomized controlled trial | South Africa | 40 | 40 | 16.3% |
IG:61.8 CG:60.4 |
SOLO™ 41% less Na, 826% more K, 388% more Ca, 368% more Mg |
Standard commercial composition and 500 ml/d of artificially sweetened cool drink | 133.9/ 79.8 | 8 weeks |
| Che and coworkers (2022) | 18 | Prospective, multicenter, randomized, double‐blind study | China | 162 | 160 | 40.4% |
IG:62.96 CG:62.17 |
43% NaCl, 32% KCl, 25% other ingredients |
100% NaCl |
OBPM e :135.32/77.61 HBPM f :130.13/ 78.06 |
12 months |
| Geleijnse and coworkers (1994) | 19 | Randomized double blind placebo controlled trial | Netherlands | 49 | 51 | 51% |
IG:65.7 CG:67.1 |
41% NaCl, 41% KCl, 17% magnesium salts, 1% trace minerals |
100% NaCl | 158/ 89.8 | 24 weeks |
| Gilleran and coworkers (1996) | 20 | A randomized blind controlled parallel study | United Kingdom | 20 | 20 | 60% |
IG:62.5 CG:59.2 |
50% NaCl, 40% KCl, 10% MgSO₄ g |
100% NaCl | 163.2/ 91.2 | 9 months |
| Hu and coworkers (2018) | 21 | Randomized double–blind controlled trial | China | 297 | 296 | 47.4% |
Hypertensive patients IG:57.1 CG:57.6 Family members IG:45.5 CG:45.7 |
65% NaCl, 25% KCl, 10% MgSO₄ |
100% NaCl |
Hypertensive patients: 139.9/ 81.9 Family members: 124.1/ 75.9 |
12 months |
| Kawasaki and coworkers (1998) | 22 | Parallel controlled clinical trial | Japan | 21 | 20 | 48.8% |
IG:65.9 CG:65.8 |
22.9 g sodium, 10.11 g potassium, 1.24 g magnesium per 100 g mineral salt |
39 g sodium, 0.13 g potassium, 0.021 g magnesium per 100 g regular salt |
134.7/ 77.2 | 5 weeks |
| Li and coworkers (2007) | 23 | Double‐blind, randomized, controlled trial | China | 306 | 302 | 44.1% |
IG:59 CG:61 |
65% NaCl, 25% KCl, 10% MgSO4 |
100%NaCl | 159/ 93 | 12 months |
| Li and coworkers (2016) | 24 | A cluster‐randomized trial | China | 1294 | 1272 | 50% |
IG:55 CG:55 |
Reduced‐sodium, added‐potassium | Usual salt | Not mentioned | 18 months |
| Little and coworkers (2004) | 25 | Randomized controlled factorial trial | United Kingdom | 138 | 158 | 55.7% | 55 | Low sodium, high potassium salt | Normal salt | 154/ 94 | 6 months |
| Neal and coworkers (2021) | 26 | Open‐label, cluster‐randomized trial | China | 10505 | 10491 | 50.5% |
IG:65.2 CG:65.5 |
75%NaCl, 25%KCl |
100% NaCl | 153.8/ 89.1 | 5 years |
| Omvik and coworkers (1995) | 27 | Parallel, comparative design, randomized in a double‐blind manner | Norway | 20 | 20 | 67.5% |
IG:45.9 CG:42.7 |
57% NaCl, 28% KCI, 12% MgSO₄ |
Standard sodium chloride | 164/102 | 6 months |
| Sarkkinen and coworkers (2011) | 28 | A randomized, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled study | Finland | 22 | 23 | 51.1% |
IG:57 CG:54 |
50%NaCl, 25%KCl, 25% magnesium ammonium potassium chloride |
100%NaCl | 140/ 89 | 8 weeks |
| Sun and coworkers (2021) | 29 | An exploratory follow‐up of a randomized controlled trial | China | 209 | 219 | 49.1% |
IG:45.4 CG:46.8 |
65% NaCl, 25% KCl, 10% MgSO₄ |
100% NaCl | 154.6/ 92 | 10 years |
| Suppa and coworkers (1988) | 30 | Double blinded randomized controlled trial | Italy | 163 | 159 | 38.8% |
IG:47.1 CG:47.8 |
NaCl 25%, KCl 25%, Potassium citrate 15% |
100% NaCl | 149.2/ 93.5 | 4 weeks |
| Yang and coworkers (2018) | 31 | Single blind, randomized, controlled trial | China | 62 | 64 | 42.9% |
ISH h IG:67.8 CG:65.9 NISH i IG:67.3 CG:65.4 |
65% NaCl, 30% KCl, 5% calcium salts |
Normal salt |
ISH: 161/ 80.6 NISH: 159/ 85 |
6 months |
| Yu and coworkers (2021) | 32 |
Double‐blind randomized controlled trial |
India | 242 | 234 | 43.5% |
IG:61.5 CG:61.7 |
70% NaCl, 30% KCl |
100% NaCl | 132.8/ 83.7 | 3 months |
| Zhao and coworkers (2014) | 33 | A patient‐blinded randomized controlled trial | China | 141 | 141 | 41.1% |
IG:62.8 CG:63.5 |
65% NaCl, 25% KCl, 10% MgSO₄ |
100% NaCl | 176.1/ 103.2 | 3 months |
| Zhou and coworkers (2016) | 9 | A double‐blind, randomized controlled trial | China | 224 | 238 | 49.4% |
IG:45.63 CG:47.05 |
65% NaCl, 25% KCl, 10% MgSO₄ |
100% NaCl | 154.02/ 91.46 | 3 years |
| Zhou and coworkers (2009) | 34 | A single‐blind, randomized controlled trial | China | 119 | 129 | 44.8% |
Hypertensives IG:67.5 CG:65.7 Normotensives IG:68.1 CG:65.4 |
65% NaCl, 30% KCl, 5% calcium salts |
Normal salt |
Hypertensives: 159.7/ 83.3 Normotensives: 125/ 74.3 |
6 months |
Abbreviations: CG, control group; IG, intervention group.
SBP: Systolic blood pressure.
DBP: Diastolic blood pressure.
NaCl: Sodium chloride.
KCl: Potassium chloride.
OBPM: Office blood pressure measurement.
HBPM: Home blood pressure measurement.
MgSO₄: Magnesium sulfate.
ISH: Isolated systolic hypertension.
NISH: Non‐isolated systolic hypertension.