Salt Awareness, Intake Perceptions, and Hypertension Control: Gender, Age and Status Differences in Croatia - MMM 2023 and Hunting the Silent Killer Program

Objective: The aim of this research was to determine the awareness of salt intake, the perception of the connection between salt and hypertension with regard to gender, age and hypertension control status. Design and method: A large, cross-sectional survey, as a part of the MMM 2023 campaign and the Hunting the silent killer program was organized by the Croatian Hypertension League and the Croatian Pharmacist Chamber enrolled adults aged >18 years across all 21 Croatian counties. We assessed awareness of the harmful effects of high salt intake, self-perceived excessive salt consumption, and self-reported ability to reduce salt intake following physician advice. Respondents were analyzed by gender, age (60 years), and hypertension status (uncontrolled, controlled, non-treated, normotensive). Results: Among 8,747 participants (aged 56.6 on average, 63.8% women) nearly all (97%) have heard high salt intake is harmful, with women slightly more aware (97.4% vs. men 96.3%, p=0.004). Similarly high awareness was across age and hypertension groups, exceeding 96% in all categories. Most believe it causes hypertension (94.8% overall) with minor gender differences (p=0.05). Regarding self-perception and behavior, 36.8% admit eating too salty food, with men reporting higher rates than women (42.8% vs 33.4%; p=0.001). Most participants (87.8%) would comply with physician advice to reduce salt, though men less likely than women (84.8% vs. 89.5%; p=0.001). Processed meat dominates as the main salt source (57%), followed by soup (15.2%), cheese (14.9%), and bread (12.9%) with significant gender gaps (e.g., men 66.5% for processed meat). Hypertension subgroup patterns reveals that awareness remains high across groups (96-97.7% heard salt is harmful; p=0.002). Yes responses for salty food intake vary (37-44.1%; p60 years; 49.4% of the sample) demonstrated less readiness comparable to younger participants. Conclusions: High awareness of salt's harm exists across genders, age and hypertension statuses, but gaps in behavior suggest targeted physician-led, gender-tailored campaigns. Older adults, despite a higher burden of hypertension, show no greater readiness to reduce intake than younger adults, underscoring the need for specific age-adapted, targeted interventions.