The Effect of Salt Usage Behaviour on Hypertension among Population in Sleman Regency, Yogyakarta

Background and aim: The combination of environmental and genetic factors accounts for the developing of hypertension. Excessive salt intake and accumulation in the kidney can increase plasma volume and lead to high blood pressure.
Sodium is consumed in various ways, such as cooking, processing and seasoning, This study was designed to verify the relationship between salt usage behaviour and blood pressure. Method: This cross-sectional study data were collected from the Health and Demographic Surveillance System in Sleman Regency from 2021 - 2022. The blood
pressure were measured three times by an automatic blood pressure measuring device and the average values were recorded. Salt usage behaviors were surveyed by salt preference questionnaire. Relationships between salt consumption and hypertension were analyzed in SPSS ver. 26 for data analysis. Results: Among 1061 enrolled subjects (481 male and 580 female) with an average age of 59.19 + – 9.15 years old (p = 0.000). The highest systolic blood pres-
sure was 221 mmHg and mean systolic blood pressure 140.20 + – 23.28 mmHg. Increase heart rate, body mass index, waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio in hypertensive subjects were shown significant statistically (p = 0.000). The cor-
relation between hypertension and salt usage behavior did not significantly differ between patients who used soy sauce before meal, additional of seasoning salt when cooking at home, consume salty snacks, and salt/ salty sauce that has been consumed with p = 0.039, p = 0.98, p = 0.82, p = 0.30, respectively. Conclusion: These findings suggest that high salt intake does not independently associated with increased blood pressure in this population. Additional largerscale and objective measurement of salt intake are needed for further clarification.