title: Who does not reduce their sodium intake despite being advised to do so? A population segmentation analysis.
abstract: Excessive sodium intake is linked to an increased risk for hypertension and cardiovascular disease. Although health care providers and other health professionals frequently provide counseling on healthful levels of sodium consumption, many people who consume sodium in excess of recommend levels still do not watch or reduce their sodium intake. In this study, we used a population segmentation approach to identify profiles of adults who are not watching or reducing their sodium intake despite been advised to do so. We analyzed sodium intake data in 125,764 respondents sampled in 15 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico through the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System to identify and segment adults into subgroups according to differences in sodium intake behaviors. We found that about 16% of adults did not watch or reduce their sodium intake despite been told to do so by a health professional. This proportion varied substantially across the 25 different population subgroups identified. For example, about 44% of adults 18 to 44years of age who live in West Virginia were not reducing their sodium intake whereas only about 7.2% of black adults 65years of age and older with diabetes were not reducing their sodium intake. Population segmentation identifies subpopulations most likely to benefit from targeted and intensive public health and clinical interventions. In the case of sodium consumption, population segmentation can guide public health practitioners and policymakers to design programs and interventions that change sodium intake in people who are resistant to behavior change.
authors.affiliation: Center for Health Innovation, The New York Academy of Medicine, New York, NY, USA; Department of Population Health Science and Policy, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA. Electronic address: yli@nyam.org.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Center for Health Innovation, The New York Academy of Medicine, New York, NY, USA; Department of Social Work, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Berenson
authors.affiliation: Division of General Internal Medicine, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA; College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Andrew E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Moran
authors.affiliation: Center for Health Innovation, The New York Academy of Medicine, New York, NY, USA; Department of Population Health Science and Policy, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA; Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
authors.forename: José A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Pagán
mesh_terms: D000288:Administrative Personnel; D000328:Adult; D040343:Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System; D037001:Directive Counseling / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000517:prevention & control; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011159:Population Surveillance / Q000379:methods*; D012964:Sodium / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects
chemical_list: D012964:Sodium
keywords: Hypertension prevention; Medical advice; Population segmentation; Sodium consumption