Developing a Questionnaire for Prediction of High Salt Intake Based on Salt Usage Behavior: Analysis from Dietary Habits and Urinary Sodium Excretion in Japan

Abstract

Salt reduction policies have been implemented throughout the world as well as in Japan. However, most of the current questionnaires for estimating salt intake are apt to be based on empirical evidence. This study was aimed to develop and validate a questionnaire for predicting high salt intake based on salt usage using dietary behaviors that affect salt intake in cooperation with Niigata prefecture, Japan. The study was comprised of 760 participants aged 21 - 79 years (Men%: 49%) living in Niigata. Participants completed a questionnaire about dietary behaviors potentially relevant to salt intake. Second morning voiding urine for estimating dietary salt intake per day was collected on the same day. The relationship of estimated dietary salt intake to answers on the questionnaire was examined using analysis of covariance for age, gender, body mass index, and whether taking medication or not. Ten items on the questionnaire revealed an association with dietary salt intake per day: making oneself gorge on a meal, having ≥2 different staples per meal, having a 1-dish meal, number of simmered dishes per day, variety of pickled vegetables per day, having salt-cured fish eggs per day, quantity of soup consumed when eating noodles, preference for strong-tasting meals, frequency of eating out, and frequency of alcohol consumption.The current study identified 10 dietary behaviors that enabled the development of a salt intake questionnaire for identifying specific dietary behaviors for assessing regions and/or individuals when attempting to encourage salt reduction.