SynthesisPloS one2016
Salt Reduction Interventions in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Systematic Review.
Synthesis in PloS one, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 25 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
25 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 37 citations in OpenAlex.
- Monitoring and implementation of salt reduction initiatives in Africa: A systematic review.Journal of clinical hypertension (Greenwich, Conn.) · 2020Pooled it
- The impact of interventions for the primary prevention of hypertension in Sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review and meta-analysis.PloS one · 2019Pooled it
- The Science of Salt: A regularly updated systematic review of the implementation of salt reduction interventions (March-August 2016).Journal of clinical hypertension (Greenwich, Conn.) · 2017Pooled it
- Effect of educational intervention based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB) on amount of salt intake in pregnant women with PreHypertension.BMC women's health · 2024Trial
- Dietary habits, body image, and health service access related to cardiovascular diseases in rural Zambia: A qualitative study.PloS one · 2019Trial
- Confronting Ghana's Hypertension Crisis: Epidemiology, Barriers, and Policy Pathways.Public health challenges · 2026Article
- Burden of High Systolic Blood Pressure in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, 1990 to 2021: Results From the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021.Journal of the American Heart Association · 2025Article
- Alleviating the public health burden of hypertension: debating precision prevention as a possible solution.Global health action · 2024Article
- Effectiveness of community-based interventions for prevention and control of hypertension in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review.PLOS global public health · 2024Article
- Countrywide "best buy" interventions for noncommunicable diseases prevention and control in countries with different level of socioeconomic development.Chronic diseases and translational medicine · 2023Article
- Barriers and Facilitators to Risk Reduction of Cardiovascular Disease in Hypertensive Patients in Nigeria.Annals of global health · 2023Article
- Health systems interventions for hypertension management and associated outcomes in Sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review.PLOS global public health · 2023Article
- Development and piloting of a primary school-based salt reduction programme: Formative work and a process evaluation in rural and urban Malawi.PLOS global public health · 2023Article
- Risk factors for cardiovascular disease among people with mental illness in Namibia.Ghana medical journal · 2022Observational
- Levels of Salt Reduction in Bread, Acceptability and Purchase Intention by Urban Mozambican Consumers.Foods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Sodium Reduction in Bouillon: Targeting a Food Staple to Reduce Hypertension in Sub-saharan Africa.Frontiers in nutrition · 2022Review
- Reported self-management of hypertension among adult hypertensive patients in a developing country: a cross-sectional study in a Nigerian tertiary hospital.African health sciences · 2021Article
- Cultural Perspectives on Sodium Intake Reduction Among Nigerians in the US: An Application of the PEN-3 Model.Preventing chronic disease · 2021Article
- Sodium intake and its source assessed using weighed food records in rural eastern Rwanda.Journal of human hypertension · 2021Article
- Awareness of Salt Intake among Community-Dwelling Elderly at Coastal Area: The Role of Public Health Access Program.Journal of nutrition and metabolism · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundSalt intake is associated with hypertension, the leading risk factor for cardiovascular disease. To promote population-level salt reduction, the World Health Organization recommends intervention around three core pillars: Reformulation of processed foods, consumer awareness, and environmental changes to increase availability and affordability of healthy food. This review investigates salt reduction interventions implemented and evaluated in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).
methodsMEDLINE and google scholar electronic databases were searched for articles meeting inclusion criteria. Studies that reported evaluation results of a salt intervention in SSA were identified. Titles and abstracts were screened, and articles selected for full-text review. Quality of included articles was assessed, and a narrative synthesis of the findings undertaken. PROSPERO registration number CRD42015019055.
resultsSeven studies representing four countries-South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, and Tanzania-were included. Two examined product reformulation, one in hypertensive patients and the other in normotensive volunteers. Four examined consumer awareness interventions, including individualised counselling and advisory health sessions delivered to whole villages. One study used an environmental approach by offering discounts on healthy food purchases. All the interventions resulted in at least one significantly improved outcome measure including reduction in systolic blood pressure (BP), 24 hour urinary sodium excretion, or mean arterial BP.
conclusionsMore high quality studies on salt reduction interventions in the region are needed, particularly focused on consumer awareness and education in urban populations given the context of rapid urbanisation; and essentially, targeting product reformulation and environmental change, for greater promise for propagation across a vast, diverse continent.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.