[Alcohol and salt consumption. Two closely related variables]

Presse Med. 1991 Oct 5;20(31):1491-3.
[Article in French]

Abstract

In a transverse epidemiological study, 3,329 male firm-employees were questioned on their daily alcohol consumption and on their use of salt during meals, which divided them into four categories: those who virtually never added salt to their food; those who salted their food according to its taste; those who salted systematically, and those who added salt to a salt-free family cooking necessitated by the health of another member of that family. This questioning showed that as the alcohol consumption increased the proportion of subjects who salted their food without tasting or because of salt-free familial meals was greater (P = 0.0018) and, conversely, the proportion of subjects who virtually never added salt to their food decreased (P = 0.0001). There is, therefore, a highly significant correlation between the alcohol consumption level and the type of salt consumption. Whether there is a relationship between the amount of salt consumed and the level of alcohol consumption remains, for the time being, an open question.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Alcohol Drinking*
  • Arteriosclerosis / chemically induced*
  • Drug Interactions
  • Ethanol / adverse effects*
  • Feeding Behavior
  • France
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Risk Factors
  • Sodium Chloride / adverse effects*

Substances

  • Ethanol
  • Sodium Chloride