A Community Health Worker-Led LSSS Intervention in Bangladesh

Summary

The sodium found in salt is a powerful cause of high blood pressure, and most sodium ingested by humans is from their diet. High blood pressure is known to cause heart attacks and strokes, so various public health programs have attempted to find ways for people to reduce their salt intake to avoid these complications. These programs, however, have proven challenging, as asking people to alter their food preparation practices is often met with resistance. As such, we wish to test the blood pressure-lowering effects of low sodium salt substitute (LSSS), a salt substance in which a third of the compound by weight is composed of potassium (which does not increase blood pressure) rather than sodium. Additionally, the best way of supplying LSSS to people is yet unknown. We thus propose to study the effectiveness of an LSSS product by directly providing it via community health workers in 309 households in rural Bangladesh.

Conditions

• Blood Pressure
• Hypertension

Interventions

DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Low-Sodium Salt Substitute

Tata SuperLite low-sodium salt substitute has 30% of the weight of the product replaced with potassium chloride (KCl) which is itself a non-prescription dietary supplement. Each household randomized to the intervention arm will receive one bag (1.5kg) per month to utilize instead of their usual table/cooking salt.

BEHAVIORAL

Information/Education

Community health workers will provide basic information on high blood pressure, the health consequences of excessive salt consumption, and feedback to the participant on the likely quantity of salt s/he consumes (estimated using a questionnaire)

Sponsors & Collaborators

• BRAC University

  collaborator OTHER

• Stanford King Center for Global Development

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Stanford University

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Malabika Sarker, PhD · James P Grant School of Public Health, BRAC University

• Pascal Geldsetzer, MD, MPH, PhD · Stanford University

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

DOUBLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2023-01-26

Primary Completion

2024-05-30

Completion

2024-12-01

Countries

• Bangladesh

Study Locations