Twenty-Two-Year Population Trends in Sodium and Potassium Consumption: The Minnesota Heart Survey

Background-—Limiting dietary sodium consumption is a core lifestyle recommendation for the prevention of hypertension. There is increasing evidence that low potassium consumption also increases hypertension risk. We estimated sex-specific 22-year trends in sodium and potassium consumption. Methods and Results-—We used data from the Minnesota Heart Survey, which performs surveillance of risk factors for cardiovascular disease in the Minneapolis–St. Paul metropolitan area. The Minnesota Heart Survey is a random population-based sample of free-living adults aged 25 to 74. Surveys were conducted in 1985–1987 (n=2273), 1990–1992 (n=2487), 1995–1997 (n=1842), 2000–2002 (n=2759), and 2007–2009 (n=1502). Dietary intake of sodium and potassium was estimated from one 24-hour dietary recall. Over 22 years, age-adjusted sodium and potassium intake among men remained relatively stable in 1985