Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of a government-launched mass campaign for salt control on the salt consumption among Shanghai residents.
Methods The project adopted a multi-stage cluster sampling method to recruit a representative sample including 2 960 households and 6 886 residents aged between 15 and 69 years. Data on usage of a special designed salt spoon and amount of table salt consumed in three days of the selected households, as well as general information and blood pressure of the residents, were collected before the delivery of salt measuring spoons (baseline) and repeated at the 1st, 6th, 12th months after the intervention launched. The family member responsible for cooking was identified as fixed cook, and there were 2 250 households with a fixed cook.
Results Of the 2 255 households with a fixed cook, the percentage of consistently using the salt measuring spoons at the 1st, 6th, and 12th months was 62.79% (1 416/2 255), 46.47% (1 048/2 255), and 41.45% (928/2 255), respectively. The average daily amount of salt consumed at baseline was 7.13 g, decreased to 6.67 g and 6.04 g respectively at the 1st and 6th months after the intervention launched, and rebounded to 6.38 g at the 12th month; these changes were statistically significant (F=49.65, P<0.000 1). Households who had a fixed family member responsible for cooking consumed significantly less salt than those without at the 1st, 6th, and 12th month after the intervention (P<0.05). Remarkable fluctuations in the amount of salt consumed were noticed in households who did not have a fixed family member responsible for cooking. No difference was noticed in the average amount of salt consumed per person between the households with continuation or discontinuation of using the salt measuring spoon (all households:F=0.16, P=0.690 8; households with fixed cooks:F=0.80, P=0.372 1).
Conclusion The government-led initiative on population-based salt control over one-year period in Shanghai has substantially lowered the amount of salt consumed per family member.
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