Salt Intake in Adults with Diabetes and Hypertension: The Longitudinal Study of Adult Health-Brasil Study.

Background and Objective: Hypertension and type-2 diabetes are strong risk factors for cardiovascular diseases, and their management requires lifestyle changes, including a shift in dietary habits. The consumption of salt has increased in the last decades in some countries, but its association with type-2 diabetes remains unknown. Thus, we aimed to estimate the amount of salt intake among adults with and without diabetes and to assess whether concomitant hypertension and diabetes are associated with higher salt intake. Methods: Data from 11,982 adults 35-74 years of age enrolled in the baseline of the Longitudinal Study of Adult Health-Brasil study (2008-2010) were studied. A clinical and anthropometric evaluation was performed, and their daily salt intake was estimated by the overnight 12-hr urine sodium excretion. Results: Salt intake (gram per day) was higher in participants with diabetes as compared with those without diabetes, regardless of sex (men: 14.2 ± 6.4 vs. 12.4 ± 5.6, P < 0.05; women: 10.5 ± 4.8 vs. 9.1 ± 4.1, P < 0.05). However, salt intake is high in participants with fasting glucose ≥126 mg/dL or HbA1c ≥6.5%, but not in participants with blood glucose 2 hr after the glucose tolerance test ≥200 mg/dL. When hypertension and diabetes coexisted, salt consumption was higher than among people without these conditions. The prevalence of hypertension increased with increasing salt intake in women with diabetes, but not in men with this condition. Conclusions: Our findings highlight the high consumption of salt in individuals with diabetes and/or hypertension, and the need for effective strategies to reduce salt consumption in these groups of increased risk for major cardiovascular events, especially in women.

The high salt intake in adults with metabolic syndrome is related to increased waist circumference and blood pressure: the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health study (ELSA-Brasil).

OBJECTIVES: The association between metabolic syndrome (MetS), a cluster of cardiometabolic risk factors, and salt consumption has fed intense debate in recent years, although it is yet to be fully elucidated. We aimed to evaluate whether individuals with MetS have a high salt consumption and to identify which components of the MetS diagnosis could be independently related to high salt consumption. METHODS: We analyzed data from 11 982 adults, ages 35 to 74 y, from the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil) cohort study, from which clinical and anthropometric data were assessed, and a validated 12-h overnight urine collection was used to estimate salt intake. MetS was defined according to the Adult Treatment Panel III criteria. RESULTS: Salt intake was increased in individuals with MetS compared with individuals without MetS, regardless of sex (men: 14.3 ± 6.4 g/d versus 12.2 ± 5.5 g/d, P < 0.001; women: 10.6 ± 4.9 g/d versus 8.9 ± 4.0 g/d, P < 0.001) and increased progressively as the MetS criteria accumulated. The high salt intake in MetS participants, however, was observed only in the presence of elevated waist circumference and/or blood pressure and not with the other MetS criteria (reduced high-density lipoprotein, increased triglycerides, and impaired fasting blood glucose), regardless of the presence of MetS. When diabetes was incorporated as a MetS criterion, increased salt intake was observed in men but not in women. CONCLUSIONS: Salt intake should be reduced worldwide, but strategies must be more intense in people with elevated blood pressure and waist circumference, regardless of MetS diagnosis, to avoid the associated morbidity and mortality.

Hepatotoxic Effect of Lafoensia pacari A. St. Hil. (Lythraceae) on a Diet-Induced Obese Mice Model.

BACKGROUND: Brazilian flora is rich in plants with medicinal properties, which though popular, has contributed to the development of a range of phytotherapic products that use plants to treat and cure diseases. However, studies that use Brazilian plants in the treatment of metabolic disorders are still scarce in the literature. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of hepatotoxicity Lafoensia pacari on the metabolism of mice with obesity induced by a high-fat diet and to verify the phytochemical difference between the Lafoensia pacari bark of the trunk, leaves, and branches. METHODS: The plant material was collected from April to May in the municipality of Bonito de Minas, MG, Brazil. Qualitative tests for the presence of secondary metabolite classes were performed for leaves, branches and bark of the trunk. Through histological analysis, we evaluated hepatocytes and cell lesions in the liver. RESULTS: The comparative phytochemical analysis of the plant did not reveal alterations between the different plant parts. The phytochemical test showed that is preferable to use the leaves to make the extract to be applied, aiming to reduce the plant aggression. After treatment, greater changes were observed in the animals that received the high-fat diet and the hydroethanolic extract; the levels of AST, ALT, albumin and creatinine that were increased, thus demonstrating a possible toxicity. There were no significant differences in body weight. In the histological analysis, the animals without plant treatment displayed decreased liver weight and reduction in the inflammatory infiltrate. CONCLUSION: We conclude that Lafoensia pacari should be better evaluated for oral consumption and may cause liver damage.