02841nas a2200253   4500000000100000008004100001100001200042700001000054700001000064700001400074700001300088700001700101700001000118700001200128700001000140700001200150700001100162245014400173250001500317300000900332490000800341520218700349020005102536       2015                            d1 aWang H.1 aWu Y.1 aMa J.1 aNowson C.1 aZhang J.1 aMacGregor G.1 aHe F.1 aFeng X.1 aMa Y.1 aYuan J.1 aLin C.00aSchool based education programme to reduce salt intake in children and their families (School-EduSalt): cluster randomised controlled trial  a2015/03/20  ah7700 v3503 a<p>
OBJECTIVE: To determine whether an education programme targeted at schoolchildren could lower salt intake in children and their families. DESIGN: Cluster randomised controlled trial, with schools randomly assigned to either the intervention or control group. SETTING: 28 primary schools in urban Changzhi, northern China. PARTICIPANTS: 279 children in grade 5 of primary school, with mean age of 10.1; 553 adult family members (mean age 43.8). INTERVENTION: Children in the intervention group were educated on the harmful effects of salt and how to reduce salt intake within the schools' usual health education lessons. Children then delivered the salt reduction message to their families. The intervention lasted for one school term (about 3.5 months). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome was the difference between the groups in the change in salt intake (as measured by 24 hour urinary sodium excretion) from baseline to the end of the trial. The secondary outcome was the difference between the two groups in the change in blood pressure. RESULTS: At baseline, the mean salt intake in children was 7.3 (SE 0.3) g/day in the intervention group and 6.8 (SE 0.3) g/day in the control group. In adult family members the salt intakes were 12.6 (SE 0.4) and 11.3 (SE 0.4) g/day, respectively. During the study there was a reduction in salt intake in the intervention group, whereas in the control group salt intake increased. The mean effect on salt intake for intervention versus control group was -1.9 g/day (95% confidence interval -2.6 to -1.3 g/day; P&lt;0.001) in children and -2.9 g/day (-3.7 to -2.2 g/day; P&lt;0.001) in adults. The mean effect on systolic blood pressure was -0.8 mm Hg (-3.0 to 1.5 mm Hg; P=0.51) in children and -2.3 mm Hg (-4.5 to -0.04 mm Hg; P&lt;0.05) in adults. CONCLUSIONS: An education programme delivered to primary school children as part of the usual curriculum is effective in lowering salt intake in children and their families. This offers a novel and important approach to reducing salt intake in a population in which most of the salt in the diet is added by consumers.Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01821144. .
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