Why the study?
A comprehensive and updated assessment of the CVD burden attributable to diet high in sodium, particularly comparing China with global patterns over the last three decades, was lacking.
High sodium intake remains a major contributor to the global and Chinese CVD burden, with absolute numbers rising despite declining age-standardized rates.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
Sustained sodium reduction efforts remain warranted in high-burden regions; extends global burden estimates but leaves intervention effects open.
BACKGROUND: Diet high in sodium is an established major risk factor for cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), yet a comprehensive and updated assessment of its attributable disease burden, particularly comparing China with global patterns over the last three decades, is lacking. METHODS: This study aims to quantify and compare the deaths and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) of CVDs attributable to diet high in sodium in China and globally from 1990 to 2021. Using data from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study 2021, we applied the comparative risk assessment framework to estimate the sodium-attributable CVD burden. Mortality and DALYs were analyzed as absolute numbers and age-standardized rates (ASRs). Temporal trends were assessed using estimated annual percentage changes (EAPCs), and future burden to 2046 was projected using an age-period-cohort (APC) model. RESULTS: In 2021, diet high in sodium was responsible for 1.71 million [95 % uncertainty intervals (UI): 0.36-3.81 million] global deaths and 37.77 million (95 % UI: 9.05-80.81 million) DALYs. The global age-standardized death rate (ASDR) and DALY rate (ASDAR) were 20.4 and 437.7 per 100,000, respectively. From 1990 to 2021, while absolute death counts increased by 52 %, the ASDR significantly declined (EAPC: -1.46 %). Pronounced sex and age disparities were observed, with males bearing a consistently higher burden and the elderly experiencing the highest rates but slowest improvements. In China, the 2021 ASDR (40.91/100,000) and ASDAR (837.94/100,000) were approximately double the global averages, despite substantial declines since 1990 (ASDR EAPC: -1.74 %; ASDAR EAPC: -1.85 %). Projections to 2046 indicate rising absolute numbers globally and in China, driven by demographic changes, despite continuing declines in age-standardized rates. CONCLUSION: High sodium intake remains a major contributor to the global and Chinese CVD burden, with significant sex and age disparities. Although age-standardized rates have improved, the rising absolute burden underscores the imperative for more effective, targeted salt-reduction public health strategies.
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Wei et al. (2025) studied this question.
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