Department of Global and Environmental Health, NYU School of Global Public Health, 708 Broadway, New York, NY 10003, USA.
Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, School of Public Health, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra P.O. Box LG13, Ghana.
Nutrients. 2023 Aug 12;15(16):3562. doi: 10.3390/nu15163562.
The positive association between excessive dietary sodium intake, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease (CVD) has been widely investigated in observational studies and clinical trials. Reducing sodium intake is a proven strategy to prevent hypertension and the onset of CVD, a major cause of morbidity and mortality globally. Africa has the youngest population globally, which is key to the continent's sustainable development. However, in Africa, the epidemics of hypertension and CVD negatively impact life expectancy and economic growth. Ghana, like other African countries, is no exception. The factors contributing to the increasing burden of CVD and excessive sodium consumption are multi-faceted and multi-level, including individual lifestyle, neighborhood and built environments, and socio-economic and health policies. Thus, the implementation of evidence-based interventions such as the World Health Organization Best Buys that target the multi-level determinants of sodium consumption is urgently needed in Ghana and other African countries. The aim of this commentary is to highlight factors that contribute to excessive sodium consumption. Second, the commentary will showcase lessons of successful implementation of sodium reduction interventions in other countries. Such lessons may help avert CVD in young adults in Ghana and Africa.
在观察性研究和临床试验中，已经广泛研究了过量的膳食钠摄入、高血压和心血管疾病（CVD）之间的正相关关系。减少钠的摄入是预防高血压和 CVD 发病的有效策略，CVD 是全球发病率和死亡率的主要原因。非洲拥有全球最年轻的人口，这是非洲可持续发展的关键。然而，在非洲，高血压和 CVD 的流行正在对预期寿命和经济增长产生负面影响。加纳和其他非洲国家一样，也未能幸免。导致 CVD 和过量钠摄入负担增加的因素是多方面和多层次的，包括个人生活方式、邻里和建筑环境以及社会经济和卫生政策。因此，在加纳和其他非洲国家，迫切需要实施针对钠摄入的多层次决定因素的基于证据的干预措施，如世界卫生组织的最佳购买。本评论的目的是强调导致钠摄入过多的因素。其次，该评论将展示其他国家成功实施减少钠干预措施的经验教训。这些经验教训可能有助于避免加纳和非洲年轻人患 CVD。
