ABC | Volume 113, Nº3, September 2019

Original Article Villela et al. Salt preference and hypertension Arq Bras Cardiol. 2019; 113(3):392-399 Table 1 – Characteristics and Distribution of clinical data of the volunteers included in the study Young Hypertensive Subjects (YH); n = 25 Young Normotensive (Y) Subjects; n = 33 Older Hypertensive Subjects (OH); n = 32 Older Normotensive Subjects (ON); n = 28 P Value Sex p = 0.63 Male 11(44.0%) 13 (30.3%) 9 (28.1%) 10 (35.7%) Female 14(56.0%) 20 (60.7%) 23 (71.9%) 18 (64.3%) Use of Alcohol p = 0.26 Yes 9 (36.0%) 15 (45.5%) 8 (25.0%) 7 (25.0%) No 26 (64.0%) 18 (54.5%) 24 (75.0%) 21 (75.0%) Smoking Habit p < 0.001 Yes 6 (24.0%) 4 (12.2%) 0(0%) 1(3.5%) No 19 (76.0%) 29 (87.8%) 32 (100%) 27 (96.5%) Age, years 40.8 ± 6.2 35.6 ± 4.4 73.6 ± 6.3 71.4 ± 7.8 SBP, mmHg 137 ± 15 116 ± 11 134 ± 16 125 ± 12 p < 0.05* DBP, mmHg 86 ± 9 75 ± 9 79 ± 9 75 ± 7 p < 0.05** UNaV, mEq/L 181.0 ± 74.2 127.6 ± 36 177.3 ± 62.3 129.6 ± 3 6.6 p < 0.05* UKV, mEq/L 46.2 ± 13.4 40.3 ± 12.8 45.2 ± 14.5 35.2 ± 10.1 p < 0.05*** BMI, kg/m 2 29.1 ± 5.0 25.9 ± 4.0 29.1 ± 5.1 27.0 ± 4.0 p = 0.02* SBP: systolic blood pressure; DBP: diastolic blood pressure; BMI: body mass index; UNaV: 24-hour urinary sodium excretion; UKV: 24-hour urinary sodium excretion; p*: hypertensive groups vs. normotensive groups; p**: young hypertensive group vs. other groups. vs. women: 142.6±46.0mEq/24 h, p=0.01). Volunteers who consumed alcohol had higher sodium excretion than those who did not (p = 0.02). Mean urinary potassium excretion was lower in normotensive elderly subjects than in the other groups (p < 0.05) (Table 1). Systolic BP was higher in the hypertensive groups (young and older subjects) compared to the non-hypertensive groups (young and older subjects), with p < 0.05. Mean diastolic BP was significantly higher in the group of YH subjects compared to all other groups of volunteers (p < 0.05) (Table 1). BMI was higher in the hypertensive groups than in the normotensive ones (p = 0.02) (Table 1). On both days of the experiment, men preferred the saltier samples compared to women (p < 0.01 in the first experiment and p = 0.01 in the second one). Alcohol consuming volunteers preferred more often the saltier samples in the first experiment than the other volunteers (p = 0.04) but this difference no longer existed when oregano was added to the samples (second experiment) (p = 0.10). No difference was observed between smokers and nonsmokers. On the two days of the experiment, gender, alcohol consumption and smoking did not show any differences in the elderly groups (hypertensive and normotensive), whereas differences were observed between the younger groups. In the first experiment, women in the YN group preferred more often samples with less salt, while men preferred more often saltier samples (p < 0.01). In the second experiment (oregano addition), the distribution was similar between genders, with a nonsignificant trend to a change in preference for less salty samples among men (p = 0.06). In the YH group, those who consumed alcohol in the first experiment more often preferred the saltier samples, and in second experiment (oregano addition), they began to prefer less salty bread samples (p = 0.04). On the first day of the experiment, there was a different preference between the elderly hypertensive and normotensive groups (p < 0.01), with the elderly hypertensive group showing a greater preference for saltier samples which persisted in the second experiment (p = 0.02). The YH group showed greater preference for samples with higher salt concentrations compared to YN subjects (p = 0.02), with this difference persisting in the second experiment (p < 0.01). The groups of elderly and YH had a similar distribution in the first and second experiment (p = 0.27 and p = 0.25), and the elderly and YN groups did not differ in preference (p = 0.11 and p = 0.34). Comparing the first and second experiments, there were significant changes in all groups. In the hypertensive groups (young and older subjects), there was a predominance of preference for saltier samples in the first experiment (Figure 1), whereas a change in preference for standard bread samples and samples with a lower salt concentration (p < 0.01 for the hypertensive elderly group and 0.04 for the YH group) was observed in the second experiment (Figure 2). In the group of ON volunteers, in the first experiment the preference was more common for standard bread samples (Figure 3), whereas a greater preference for the sample with a lower salt concentration as observed in the second experiment (with the addition of oregano) (p < 0.01) (Figure 4). In the first experiment, YN subjects showed a higher preference for the samples with lower salt concentrations (Figure 3), with an increase in this preference in the second experiment (p = 0.03) (Figure 4). 394