This meta-analysis by Strazzullo et al. was performed to assess the effects of salt intake in the risk of stroke and total cardiovascular disease. It included 13 studies published from 1985 to 2008 representing 177,025 participants (follow-up 3.5-19 years) with over 11,000 vascular events. High salt intake was associated with a significantly increased risk of stroke (pooled relative risk 1.23, 95% CI: 1.06-1.43; p=0.007) and total cardiovascular events (1.14, 95% CI: 0.99-1.32; p=0.007). Moreover, the association between habitual sodium intake and risk of stroke and cardiovascular disease seemed partly independent from the influence of excess body weight and blood pressure. A significant association was reported between duration of follow-up and the effect of sodium on the risk of stroke, but not on the risk of cardiovascular disease. Therefore, a reduction of the population salt intake is suggested for the prevention of cardiovascular disease.
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