To the Editor: There is convincing evidence that high salt diets are linked to elevated blood pressure — a major risk factor for chronic diseases.1 Premature mortality due to chronic diseases is a major contributor to the life expectancy gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.2 Although much has been written about the health benefits of a traditional hunter-gatherer diet and the detrimental effects of colonisation on diet and exercise patterns,3 we know little about how colonisation has affected salt intake among Indigenous Australians.
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- 1. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Chronic diseases and associated risk factors in Australia, 2006. Canberra: AIHW, 2006. (AIHW Cat. No. PHE 81.)
- 2. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Contribution of chronic disease to the gap in adult mortality between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and other Australians. Canberra: AIHW, 2011. (AIHW Cat. No. IHW 48.)
- 3. O’Dea K. Traditional diet and food preferences of Australian Aboriginal hunter-gatherers. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 1991; 334: 233-241.
- 4. National Heart Foundation of Australia (National Blood Pressure and Vascular Disease Advisory Committee). Guide to the management of hypertension 2008. Updated 2010. Canberra: NHF, 2010.
- 5. He FJ, MacGregor GA. Effect of modest salt reduction on blood pressure: a meta-analysis of randomized trials. Implications for public health. J Hum Hypertens 2002; 16: 761-770.
- 6. Murray CJL, Lopez AD, Black R, et al. Global burden of disease 2005: call for collaborators. Lancet 2007; 370: 109-110.
- 7. National Health and Medical Research Council; New Zealand Ministry of Health. Nutrient reference values for Australia and New Zealand including recommended dietary intakes. Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia, 2006. www.nhmrc.gov.au/_files_nhmrc/publications/attachments/n35.pdf (accessed Mar 2013).
No relevant disclosures.
*On behalf of Mary-Anne Land, Sandra J Eades, Kerin O’Dea, Bruce C Neal, Alan Cass and Jacqui L Webster.