Do changes in dietary salt influence blood pressure of hypertensive patients pharmacologically controlled with verapamil? The Salt-Switching-Study (SSS).

To study how changes in dietary salt influence the blood pressure (BP) of pharmacologically controlled hypertensive patients, we have selected from a large multicenter trial two subgroups of 14 and 16 patients who attained BP control (office DBP < 90 mm Hg) after a 4-week treatment with verapamil SR 240 mg once daily, either under an unrestricted salt diet (high-salt; 14 patients) or under a moderately restricted salt diet (low-salt; 16 patients). All of them were switched to the opposite dietary salt regimen and continued on verapamil for 4 more weeks (Salt-Switching-Period). Office BP and ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) were registered before and after the Salt-Switching-Period. Salt intake was checked by urinary sodium excretion (UNa). Patients switching from high- to low-salt reduced UNa from 180.9 +/- 22.9 to 89 +/- 28 mM Na/24h (P < 0.001) and patients switching from low- to high-salt increased UNa from 85 +/- 38.4 to 175.8 +/- 57.5 mM Na/24h (P < 0.001). No significant changes in BP were found by ABPM either in the group switching from high- to low-salt or in the group switching from low- to high-salt. In the latter group, a significant increase was observed in office DPB but not in SBP. Short-term changes in salt intake seem to have little influence on the BP of patients pharmacologically controlled with verapamil.

[Disorders secondary to iodine deficiency in the autonomous community of the Murcia area]. / Trastornos derivados de la deficiencia de yodo en la comunidad autónoma de la región de Murcia.

Hypothesis. To know goiter prevalence, iodine excretion and disorders associated to iodine deficiency in the region of Murcia, with the aim to define the need for establishing iodine prophylaxis programs. Method. Transversal study on 1956 pupils of the region of Murcia, with an age between four and seventeen years old, stratified by sex, age and area of origin, evaluating thyroid size, grade, weight, height, school performance and problems, menarche age, fish and iodine salt intake and iodine excretion. Results. Global prevalence of goiter was 29%, we found a mean ioduria of 93.92 +/- 56.83 micrograms/l. Anthropometric mean values for each age group did not differ between pupils affected by the lack of iodine and the others. A lower school performance was found in pupils with iodine deficit. Fish intake did not play a role in goiter prevalence. Conclusions. Murcia is an area affected by disorders derived from mild iodine deficiency, which implies the need to establish a continuous plan of effective prophylaxis with iodine salt.

[Anthropometric study of the school population of the autonomic community of Murcia]. / Estudio antropométrico de la poblacíon escolar de la Comunidad Autónoma de Murcia.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to know the anthropometric study of school children in Murcia in order to obtain parameters of present reference for our country and region. METHODS: A transversal study of the school population of the community of Murcia at Preschool, EGB, BUP and Technical School levels was carried out including 1,930 children between the ages of 4 and 17. These children were selected from a total of 242,596 proportionally chosen with respect to demography of each of the twelve regions in the area with weight, height and bicipital, tricipital, subscapular and abdominal skin folds being measured. RESULTS: The values obtained and classified by age, sex and regions of the autonomic community of Murcia exposed in tables, demonstrate the differences existing in all the parameters measured with those routinely used at an international and national level. CONCLUSIONS: The differences found clearly justify the need to compare the regional antropometric alterations with the "reference parameters" obtained in Spain and Murcia for which other studies concerning the same would be advisable.