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Intensity of Salt Taste and Prevalence of Hypertension Are Not Related in the Beaver Dam Offspring Study

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Chemosensory Perception

Abstract

Standard clinical advice for the prevention and treatment of hypertension includes limitation of salt intake. Previous studies of the association between perception of salt taste and hypertension prevalence have not reported consistent results and have usually been conducted in small study populations. The aim of this study is to determine the cross-sectional relationship among the intensity of salt taste, discretionary salt use, and hypertension. Subjects (n = 2,371, mean age = 48.8 years) were participants in the Beaver Dam Offspring Study, an investigation of sensory loss and aging conducted in 2005–2008. Salt taste intensity was measured using a filter paper disk impregnated with 1.0 M sodium chloride and a general Labeled Magnitude Scale. Hypertension was defined as systolic blood pressure ≥140 mmHg or diastolic blood pressure ≥90 mmHg or use of high blood pressure medication. Nearly 32% of the participants rated the salt disk as weak or having no taste, while approximately 10% considered it to be very strong or stronger. The intensity was reported to be less strong by men (P < 0.001) and college graduates (P = 0.02), and was inversely associated with frequency of adding salt to foods (P = 0.02). There was no significant association between hypertension and the intensity of salt taste, before and after adjustment for covariates. Exclusion of subjects with a history of physician diagnosed hypertension did not appreciably alter these findings. The perception of salt taste was related to the frequency of discretionary salt use but not to hypertension status or mean blood pressure.

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Fig. 1

Abbreviations

BMI:

Body mass index

BOSS:

Beaver Dam Offspring Study

CI:

Confidence interval

EHLS:

Epidemiology of Hearing Loss Study

GEE:

Generalized estimating equation

gLMS:

General labeled magnitude scale

kg:

Kilogram

M:

Molarity

m:

Meter

mg:

Milligram

mmHg:

Millimeter of mercury

OR:

Odds ratio

S.D.:

Standard deviation

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank the participants for their continued commitment to the study. The project described was supported by R01AG021917 from the National Institute on Aging, National Eye Institute, and National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (to K.J. Cruickshanks). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily reflect the official views of the National Institute on Aging or the National Institutes of Health.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Wisconsin, 610 Walnut Street 10th Floor WARF, Madison, WI, 53726-2336, USA

    Mary E. Fischer, Karen J. Cruickshanks, Alex Pinto, Carla R. Schubert, Barbara E. K. Klein & Ronald Klein

  2. Department of Population Health Sciences, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA

    Karen J. Cruickshanks & F. Javier Nieto

  3. Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA

    James S. Pankow

  4. Department of Psychology, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, USA

    Derek J. Snyder

  5. School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Brendan J. Keating

Authors
  1. Mary E. Fischer
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  2. Karen J. Cruickshanks
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  3. Alex Pinto
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  4. Carla R. Schubert
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  5. Barbara E. K. Klein
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  6. Ronald Klein
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  7. F. Javier Nieto
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  8. James S. Pankow
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  9. Derek J. Snyder
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  10. Brendan J. Keating
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mary E. Fischer.

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Fischer, M.E., Cruickshanks, K.J., Pinto, A. et al. Intensity of Salt Taste and Prevalence of Hypertension Are Not Related in the Beaver Dam Offspring Study. Chem. Percept. 5, 139–145 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12078-012-9118-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12078-012-9118-8

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