Background: Hypertension is a worldwide public health problem. We sought to examine the interactive association between sodium intake, alcohol consumption and hypertension among elderly residents of Inner Mongolia in Northern China.Methods: This cross-sectional study used the National Survey Data for Nutrition and Adult Chronic Disease in Inner Mongolia. The prevalence of hypertension was age standardized by direct method. Sodium intake and alcohol consumption were estimated using a weighing method and 24-hour recalls over three consecutive days. Hypertension was either self-reported or field-measured. Participants were categorized into six subgroups according to the sodium intake status and drinking levels. Logistic regression was used to determine the interactive effects between sodium intake and drinking on hypertension.Results: A total 820 elderly participated in the study, of whom 523 (63.80%, age-standardized rate 62.33%) had been diagnosed with hypertension. The mean sodium intake was 4.88g. Sodium intake and drinking excessively were both independently related to a higher risk of hypertension. Adjusting for confounders, there was interaction between sodium intake and alcohol consumption in the six subgroups, with the risk of hypertension being highest among the group with excessive sodium intake and excessive alcohol consumption, with an odds ratio of 3.639 (95% confidence interval: 1.666–7.947).Conclusions: The study highlights the interactive association between sodium intake and alcohol consumption with hypertension. Primary healthcare providers should take special consideration of those who are older age with hypertension in Inner Mongolia, especially those with an unhealthy diet including both excessive sodium and excessive alcohol intake.

Aim:An increasing number of studies have reported a higher frequency of liver injury in COVID-19. Several meta-analyses of the associations between liver injury and COVID-19 had been published, but the dose-response relationship has not been conducted. Therefore, we performed a dose-response meta-analysis to explore this relationship. Methods: PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, and four additional Chinese databases were used to collect studies from December 1, 2019 to October 26, 2020. Key information was extracted, and the corresponding model was selected on the basis of the heterogeneity test. The pooled RR, OR, and WMD values were then calculated. Sensitivity analysis and publication bias were also assessed to further demonstrate the stability and reliability of the results. Results: Among the 13298 studies that were initially retrieved, 54 studies met our inclusion criteria and included 9907 participants. There was a dose-response relationship between ALT (OR from 1.0 for ≤40 U/L to 1.556[1.130–2.142] for 40–80 U/L and 1.635[1.176–2.273] for >80 U/L), AST (OR from 1.0 for ≤40 U/L to 1.635[1.180–2.266] for 40–80 U/L and 2.019[1.387–2.938] for >80 U/L) and severe COVID-19. Higher ALT, AST, and TBil were associated with need for ICU admission (WMD 6.45[4.08–8.81], 8.80[6.02–11.57], 2.03[0.91–3.14]), and death due to COVID-19 (WMD 3.22[0.08–6.35], 12.06[6.26–17.85], 2.70[0.72–4.68]). There was no publication bias in this meta-analysis. Conclusion: There were dose-response relationships between ALT, AST, and COVID-19 severity. ALT and AST levels in COVID-19 patients on admission should be considered to be clinical warning indicators, which could provide basis for preventing serious COVID-19 and associated deaths

Background: Hypertension is a worldwide public health problem. We sought to examine the interactive associations among sodium intake, alcohol consumption and hypertension among older adult residents of Inner Mongolia in northern China.Methods: This cross-sectional study used data from the National Survey for Nutrition and Adult Chronic Disease in Inner Mongolia. The prevalence of hypertension was age standardized by the direct method. Sodium intake and alcohol consumption were estimated using a weighing method and 24-hour recalls on 3 consecutive days. Hypertension was either self-reported or field-measured. Participants were categorized into six subgroups according to combinations of sodium intake status and drinking level. Logistic regression was used to determine the interactive effect of sodium intake and drinking on hypertension.Results: Of the 820 older adults who participated in this study, 523 (63.80%, age-standardized rate = 62.33%) had been diagnosed with hypertension. The mean sodium intake was 4.88 g. Sodium intake and drinking excessively were both independently related to higher risk of hypertension. A formal test for a multiplicative interaction between sodium intake and drinking revealed a significant interaction (p = 0.042), and the multivariable-adjusted odds ratio (95% CI) for the interaction was 1.1 (1.0–1.3). After adjusting for confounders, the risk of hypertension was highest among those with both excessive sodium intake and excessive alcohol consumption, with an odds ratio of 3.6 (95% CI: 1.7–7.9).Conclusions: The study highlights the interactive effect of sodium intake and alcohol consumption on hypertension. Primary health care providers should pay special attention to older adults with hypertension—especially those with an unhealthy diet including both excessive sodium and excessive alcohol intake. These findings are applicable for older adults in Inner Mongolia and worldwide.