TY - JOUR
T1 - Association between sodium or salt intake and lower urinary tract symptoms
T2 - a systematic review
AU - Fribourg-Liendo, Rodrigo Alonso
AU - Herrera-Añazco, Percy
AU - Garcia-Lopez, Mariana Lucia
AU - Abarca-Velarde, Jheram
AU - Ramos-Vallejos, Fatima
AU - Benites-Zapata, Vicente Aleixandre
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s), 2026. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).
PY - 2026/1/1
Y1 - 2026/1/1
N2 - Background: High sodium intake is associated with cardiovascular and kidney disease, as well as the development of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS). The amount of salt intake can influence the development of symptoms, but reduction may benefit patients by lowering the presentation of LUTS. However, there is a lack of systematization of evidence between salt intake and LUTS. Objectives: Determine the relationship between a high salt intake and LUTS, and the impact of salt intake reduction on the development of LUTS. Design: Systematic review. Data sources and methods: We included observational studies and clinical trials that assessed any clinical manifestations of LUTS and any method of measuring salt intake to establish a comparison between high and low salt intake. A search was conducted on PubMed, Scopus, Ovid-Medline, WOS, and Embase databases in February 2024, including studies published at any time until the date of the search. Risk of bias was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale and risk of bias in non-randomized studies of interventions. A qualitative synthesis of the included studies was performed, and a meta-analysis was not conducted due to the heterogeneity of how LUTS and salt intake were measured. Results: We obtained 3085 articles, from which 10 were included in this review. In regards to urinary incontinence and general LUTS, patients who had a salty diet had more frequency and severe symptoms according to the Overactive Bladder Symptom score (H: 286, 1% vs N: 356, 0.6% vs N: 225, 0.8%; p < 0.001) and International Prostate Symptom score (H: 688, 2.5% vs N: 670, 1.7% vs B: 419, 2.3%; p < 0.001) respectively, compared to patients who had neutral or bland diets. Conclusion: Some evidence suggests a possible association between a high salt intake and LUTS, and lowering salt intake might help to improve symptoms. We suggest that future studies improve clinical trial designs to clarify the relationship and methods to assess salt intake and measurement of LUTS.
AB - Background: High sodium intake is associated with cardiovascular and kidney disease, as well as the development of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS). The amount of salt intake can influence the development of symptoms, but reduction may benefit patients by lowering the presentation of LUTS. However, there is a lack of systematization of evidence between salt intake and LUTS. Objectives: Determine the relationship between a high salt intake and LUTS, and the impact of salt intake reduction on the development of LUTS. Design: Systematic review. Data sources and methods: We included observational studies and clinical trials that assessed any clinical manifestations of LUTS and any method of measuring salt intake to establish a comparison between high and low salt intake. A search was conducted on PubMed, Scopus, Ovid-Medline, WOS, and Embase databases in February 2024, including studies published at any time until the date of the search. Risk of bias was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale and risk of bias in non-randomized studies of interventions. A qualitative synthesis of the included studies was performed, and a meta-analysis was not conducted due to the heterogeneity of how LUTS and salt intake were measured. Results: We obtained 3085 articles, from which 10 were included in this review. In regards to urinary incontinence and general LUTS, patients who had a salty diet had more frequency and severe symptoms according to the Overactive Bladder Symptom score (H: 286, 1% vs N: 356, 0.6% vs N: 225, 0.8%; p < 0.001) and International Prostate Symptom score (H: 688, 2.5% vs N: 670, 1.7% vs B: 419, 2.3%; p < 0.001) respectively, compared to patients who had neutral or bland diets. Conclusion: Some evidence suggests a possible association between a high salt intake and LUTS, and lowering salt intake might help to improve symptoms. We suggest that future studies improve clinical trial designs to clarify the relationship and methods to assess salt intake and measurement of LUTS.
KW - lower urinary tract symptoms
KW - nocturia
KW - polyuria
KW - sodium
KW - urinary incontinence
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105026503922
U2 - 10.1177/17562872251408905
DO - 10.1177/17562872251408905
M3 - Artículo de revisión
AN - SCOPUS:105026503922
SN - 1756-2872
VL - 18
JO - Therapeutic Advances in Urology
JF - Therapeutic Advances in Urology
ER -