Novel population study in South Africa ties national regulations on salt restriction in processed foods to lower blood pressure

A original investigation published in JAMA Cardiology—the first large study to analyze the impacts of national regulations on salt restriction in 13 categories of processed foods in South Africa—finds that not only was the sodium intake lowered (as intended) but blood pressure among this older cohort of adults was also lowered. These findings by researchers affiliated with the “Health and Aging in Africa: Longitudinal Studies in South Africa” (HAALSA) project are based on a cohort of over 5,000 adults 40 years old and older that have been studied in four waves starting in 2014.