TYPE Original Research PUBLISHED 16 October 2023 DOI 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1242969 OPEN ACCESS EDITED BY Tao Feng, Shanghai Institute of Technology, China REVIEWED BY Maria do Céu Gonçalves da Costa, University of Lisbon, Portugal Nurul ’Ain Azizan, University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus, Malaysia *CORRESPONDENCE Zhi-Rong Liu liuzhirong66@126.com Hai-Feng Pan panhaifeng@ahmu.edu.cn; panhaifeng1982@sina.com † These authors have contributed equally to this work and share first authorship RECEIVED 20 June 2023 ACCEPTED 11 September 2023 PUBLISHED 16 October 2023 CITATION Xing X-Y, Zhao Y, Sam NB, Xu J-Q, Chen Y-J, Xu W, Wang H-D, Liu Z-R and Pan H-F (2023) Salt reduction behavior of adults in Anhui province in 2019: a cross-sectional survey of 3,378 participants. Front. Public Health 11:1242969. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1242969 COPYRIGHT © 2023 Xing, Zhao, Sam, Xu, Chen, Xu, Wang, Liu and Pan. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms. Salt reduction behavior of adults in Anhui province in 2019: a cross-sectional survey of 3,378 participants Xiu-Ya Xing 1† , Yan Zhao 2,3† , Napoleon Bellua Sam 4 , Jing-Qiao Xu 1 , Ye-Ji Chen 1 , Wei Xu 1 , Hua-Dong Wang 1 , Zhi-Rong Liu 1 * and Hai-Feng Pan 2,3 * 1 Department of Chronic Non-Communicable Disease Prevention and Control, Anhui Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Hefei, China, 2 Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, China, 3 Institute of Kidney Disease, Inflammation and Immunity-Mediated Diseases, The Second Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, China, 4 Department of Medical Research and Innovation, School of Medicine, University for Development Studies, Tamale, Ghana Objective: A high-sodium diet is an important risk factor for hypertension in the Chinese population, which can increase the risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Although a large number of related studies have been carried out in Anhui province, clear, effective salt reduction interventions and policies that can be widely promoted have not yet been formed. This study sought to understand the prevalence and precise measures of salt reduction behavior, the variables affecting salt reduction behavior, and the reasons why salt reduction behavior was not practiced in Anhui Province, China. Methods: The total number of participants in the study was 3,378. Using a multi-stage stratified cluster random sampling method, residents between the ages of 18 and 69 years in 10 counties and districts were selected from March to October 2019. A survey questionnaire and physical measurements were given to each participant. The influencing factors of residents’ salt reduction behavior were examined using a multi-factor unconditional logistic regression analysis. The chi-squared (χ 2 ) test was used to analyze the implementation of salt reduction behaviors among different age groups and gender, the factors influencing the implementation of salt reduction measures, and the reasons for not implementing salt reduction measures. Results: A history of hypertension was associated with salt reduction strategies (P = 0.014). Patients with hypertension were more likely to adopt salt reduction behaviors than those without hypertension (OR = 1.218, P = 0.040). The influence of eating out on the adoption of salt-reduction measures varied by age group (χ 2 = 50.463, P < 0.001) and gender (χ 2 = 81.348, P < 0.001). Conclusion: In summary, residents of the Anhui Province are not very knowledgeable about salt reduction. Age, gender, education level, hypertension, and marital status are the main determinants. Our findings have significant implications for policymakers who want to devise salt reduction strategies. KEYWORDS salt intake reduction, hypertension, behavior, salt intake, diet Frontiers in Public Health 01 frontiersin.org