This review aims to identify, summarize, and appraise studies reporting on the implementation of salt reduction interventions that were published between March and August 2016. Overall, 40 studies were included: four studies evaluated the impact of salt reduction interventions, while 36 studies were identified as relevant to the design, assessment, and implementation of salt reduction strategies. Detailed appraisal and commentary were undertaken on the four studies that measured the impact of the interventions. Among them, different evaluation approaches were adopted; however, all demonstrated positive health outcomes relating to dietary salt reduction. Three of the four studies measured sodium in breads and provided consistent evidence that sodium reduction in breads is feasible and different intervention options are available.None of the studies were conducted in low-or lower middle-income countries, which stresses the need for more resources and research support for the implementation of salt reduction interventions in these countries.
| INTRODUCTIONHigh salt intake is one of the main contributors to premature death from cardiovascular diseases globally. of countries (China, Finland, France, England, and Ireland) had already achieved significant reductions in population salt intake.
| METHODOLOGYA detailed description of the search strategy used to identify and screen studies in this review has been previously reported. In the current review, studies evaluating the impact of salt reduction interventions were appraised for risk of bias by two independent reviewers using a modified Cochrane risk of bias tool for nonrandomized trials of intervention studies. 4,7 Detailed appraisal and commentary were also performed on these studies. Other types of studies that provided information pertinent to the design, implementation, and assessment of salt reduction interventions were summarized in a table.These include (1) studies on monitoring and surveillance of salt intake;(2) salt content in foods; (3) consumers' knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors toward salt; (4) economic evaluation or modeling studies of salt reduction strategies; and (5) other studies related to implementation of salt reduction initiatives.
| RESULTSThe MEDLINE search identified 3675 citations, of which 85 were considered potentially eligible for full review on the basis of their findings relevant to salt reduction interventions. Ultimately, a total of 40 studies met the inclusion criteria: four studies evaluated the impact of salt reduction interventions, 21 were surveillance or monitoring studies, five were modeling studies relating to salt reduction, and 10 other studies related to the implementation of salt reduction interventions (Figure 1). conducted at a community level, 8,11 one assessed the impact of salt substitution in breads employed at a community level, 10 and one evaluated the changes in sodium levels in foods achieved through voluntary sodium reduction targets implemented at a national level.
9The method for evaluating the impact ...