United Kingdom Dietary Sodium 24 Hour Urine Sample Survey 2008

This study used a 24-hour urine sample acquired through two nurse visits to provide estimates of salt intake using sodium concentrations in urine. The study was carried out among a representative sample of adults aged 19-64 in the UK, using a random sample of 45 postcode sectors, and within these a random sample of telephone numbers using random digit dialling. When eligible households were identified, a short telephone interview was conducted and the household was asked to take part in the 24-hour urine collection study. The estimated daily salt intake of a representative sample based on the 294 men and 398 women analysed in the study was 9.7g and 7.7 g, respectively (8.6 g/day for both men and women together). These estimates are lower than those reported by the most recent NDNS for adults (9.5g/day) but are similar to recent estimates based on urinary sodium from 2006 and 2007 in England and in Wales (9.0g/day and 8.1g/day respectively).