RESUMO
In 2017, Lithuania joined the global May Measurement Month (MMM) campaign which aims at raising awareness of raised blood pressure worldwide. Presented here are the data arising from the 2017, 2018, and 2019 campaigns. An opportunistic cross-sectional survey of individuals aged ≥18 years was carried out in Lithuania in 2017, 2018, and 2019. Two thousand nine hundred and nineteen participants were recruited in the MMM campaigns in response to the media engagement and interactions with the study team. The mean age of participants was 46.1 years (SD 16.3) years, 58.9% were females. Blood pressures were measured using electronic devices provided by Omron according to the MMM protocol. Of the 2919 screened participants, 1308 (44.8%) had hypertension. Of all hypertensive participants, the awareness rate, the treatment rate, and the control rates (<140/90â mmHg) were 79.5%, 41.0%, and 14.2%, respectively. Of those on antihypertensive medication, the control rate was 34.8%. The high percentage of participants with hypertension was either untreated (59.0%) or treated but uncontrolled (65.2%) suggests the usefulness of such screening programmes to improve awareness of hypertension control in Lithuania.
RESUMO
Hypertension is a leading risk factor for cardiovascular events and death. A reduction in salt intake is among the most cost-effective strategies to reduce blood pressure and the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Increasing potassium lowers blood pressure and is associated with lower cardiovascular risk. Adequate iodine intake is important to prevent iodine deficiency disorders. Salt iodization is a key strategy to prevent such deficiency. In Lithuania, no surveys have been performed to directly assess sodium, potassium and iodine consumption. The aim of the present study was to measure sodium, potassium and iodine intake in a randomly selected adult Lithuanian adult population using 24 h urine collections, and to assess knowledge, attitudes and behavior towards salt consumption. Salt and potassium intakes were estimated in 888 randomly selected participants by 24 h urine sodium and potassium excretion and 679 individuals provided suitable 24 h urine samples for the analysis of iodine excretion. Average salt intake was 10.0 (SD 5.3) g/24 h and average potassium intake was 3.3 (SD 1.3) g/24 h. Only 12.5% of participants consumed less than 5 g/24 h of salt. The median value of urinary iodine concentration (UIC) was 95.5 µg/L. Our study showed that average salt intake is twice as high as the maximum level recommended by the World Health Organization while potassium and iodine intakes in Lithuania are below the recommended levels.
