%0 Journal Article
%T Urinary sodium-to-potassium ratio and intake of sodium and potassium among men and women from multiethnic general populations: the INTERSALT Study
%J -
%D 2019
%R https://doi.org/10.1038/s41440-019-0263-1
%X The Na/K ratio may be more strongly related to blood pressure and cardiovascular disease than sodium or potassium. The casual urine Na/K ratio can provide prompt on-site feedback, and with repeated measurements, may provide useful individual estimates of the 24-h ratio. The World Health Organization has published guidelines for sodium and potassium intake, but no generally accepted guideline prevails for the Na/K ratio. We used standardized data on 24£¿h and casual urinary electrolyte excretion obtained from the INTERSALT Study for 10,065 individuals aged 20¨C59 years from 32 countries (52 populations). Associations between the casual urinary Na/K ratio and the 24-h sodium and potassium excretion of individuals were assessed by correlation and stratification analyses. The mean 24-h sodium and potassium excretions were 156.0£¿mmol/24£¿h and 55.2£¿mmol/24£¿h, respectively; the mean 24-h urinary Na/K molar ratio was 3.24. Pearson¡¯s correlation coefficients (r) for the casual urinary Na/K ratio with 24-h sodium and potassium excretions were 0.42 and £¿0.34, respectively, and these were 0.57 and £¿0.48 for the 24-h ratio. The urinary Na/K ratio predicted a 24-h urine Na excretion of <85£¿mmol/day (the WHO recommended guidelines) with a sensitivity of 99.7% and 94.0%, specificity of 39.5% and 48.0%, and positive predictive value of 96.3% and 61.1% at the cutoff point of 1 in 24£¿h and casual urine Na/K ratios, respectively. A urinary Na/K molar ratio <1 may be a useful indicator for adherence to the WHO recommended levels of sodium and, to a lesser extent, the potassium intake across different populations; however, cutoff points for Na/K ratio may be tuned for localization
%U https://www.nature.com/articles/s41440-019-0263-1