ASSESSMENT OF THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN HABITUAL SALT INTAKE AND HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE: METHODOLOGICAL PROBLEMS1

Abstract
Despite the finding in cross-cultural comparisons that habitual Na intake correlates with levels of blood pressure, similar studies from within population groups yielded inconsistent results. In industrialized societies the high degree of intraindividual variability of Na intake, compared to much smaller interindividual differences, may obscure potential biological correlations. A quantitative statistical method is presented to assess and minimize the effect of the large intraindividual variation in daily urinary Na excretion.