Salt substitutes appear to be effective in tackling hypertension across a range of populations, researchers say today.
Previous work indicates that reduced dietary sodium or supplementation with potassium may lower blood pressure, the Chinese researchers say.
Dr Maoyi Tian of Harbin Medical University, China, and colleagues looked at the effects of salt substitutes on a number of outcomes, in light of recent results from the China-based Salt Substitute and Stroke Study (SSaSS).
They analysed 21 reliable trials covering 31,949 participants. This showed that salt substitutes led to an overall reduction in systolic blood pressure of 4.61 mm Hg, and diastolic blood pressure by 1.61 mm Hg.
"Reductions in blood pressure appeared to be consistent across geographical regions and population subgroups defined by age, sex, history of hypertension, body mass index, baseline blood pressure, baseline 24-hour urinary sodium and baseline 24-hour urinary potassium," they write in the Heart journal today.
They estimate that each 10% lower proportion of sodium chloride in the salt substitute was linked to a 1.53 mm Hg greater reduction in systolic blood pressure, and a 0.95 mm Hg greater reduction in diastolic blood pressure.
"There were clear protective effects of salt substitute on total mortality, cardiovascular mortality, and cardiovascular events," they add.
The team concludes that the beneficial effects of salt substitutes "are likely to be generalisable across population subgroups and to countries worldwide".
Yin, X. et al. Effects of salt substitutes on clinical outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Heart 10 August 2022 doi: 10.1136/heartjnl-2022-321332
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