Association of Salt Taste Sensitivity Threshold with Blood Pressure and Obesity Indicators among Healthy Young Adults

Abstract

Background: Salt preference in diet can vary according to the salt taste sensitivity threshold among the individuals. This study aims to know the salt taste sensitivity threshold (STST) among healthy Nepalese adults and its association with blood pressure and anthropometric measures like Body Mass Index, waist Circumference and waist by hip ratio.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out among 104 healthy Nepalese volunteers between 20-30 years of age in the department of Clinical Physiology, Maharajgunj Medical Campus. The ethical clearance from Institutional Review Committee was taken in From June to October, 2024. The salt taste sensitivity threshold was elicited with different concentrations of salt solutions. The blood pressure, and anthropometric measures like body mass index, waist circumference and waist by hip ratio were measured. All inferential statistics were calculated at a 5% level of significance.
Results: Among the study participants, 86.5% were in normal STST category. The mean body mass index (21.60 ± 2.82 kg/m2), waist circumference (78.03±11.10 cm) and waist by hip ratio 0.74±0.052) in high STST participants was comparatively more with statistically significant difference (P: 0.04; P <0.001, P<0.001). The association of systolic blood pressure was significant with STST (P:0.004). Also, the association of waist circumference and waist by hip ratio with STST was significant among female (P: 0.005; P:0.006).
Conclusions: The healthy participants had mostly normal STST. The elevated systolic blood was associated with high STST which suggests of reducing salt intake for minimizing such risks.
Keywords: Blood pressure; Salt; Taste threshold; Waist circumference; Waist by Hip ratio.