Effect of Salt Intake on Serum Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Levels in Normotensive Salt-Sensitive Subjects

Background/Aims: Excess dietary salt is a critical risk factor of salt-sensitive hypertension. Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), a gut incretin hormone, conferring benefits for blood pressure by natriuresis and diuresis. We implemented a randomized trial to verify the effect of altered salt intake on serum GLP-1 level in human beings. Methods: The 38 subjects were recruited from a rural community of Northern China. All subjects were sequentially maintained a baseline diet period for 3 days, a low-salt diet period for 7 days (3.0g/day of NaCl), and a high-salt diet period for additional 7 days (18.0g/day of NaCl). Results: Serum GLP-1 level increased significantly with the change from the baseline period to the low-salt diet period and decreased with the change from the low-salt to high-salt diet in normotensive salt-sensitive (SS) but not salt-resistant (SR) individuals. There was a significant inverse correlation between the serum GLP-1 level and the MAP in SS subjects. Inverse correlation between the serum GLP-1 level and 24-h urinary sodium excretion was also found among different dietary interventions in SS subjects. Conclusions: Our study indicates that variations in dietary salt intake affect the serum GLP-1 level in normotensive salt-sensitive Chinese adults.