Summary of the International Workshop of Dietary Sodium and Human Health in China and the United States.

The idea for a workshop focused on sodium and health was generated by the editors of the American Journal of Hypertension and the Chinese Journal of Hypertension as part of their emerging collaboration. It reflects a belief that scientists and clinicians interested in blood pressure and its related conditions would profit from more effective communication and interaction. Salt was chosen as a central topic because of its multiple physiological and pathological effects, its importance to human health, its role in elevating blood pressure, the unresolved scientific issues, and the absence of an agreed public health response regarding dietary sodium. In addition, much current clinical and population research has begun to shed light on how the interaction of genetics, environment, and diet determines the impact of sodium intake on human health and disease. Surprisingly, given the often passionate professional interest, there has been no regular forum dedicated to an exchange of new knowledge and current research findings. The biomedical literature provides strong evidence that investigators around the world are generating important new findings that increase understanding of how dietary sodium may relate to both health and disease. Given the widely shared need and interest, the workshop's organizers hope that the experience in Xi'an will lead to the appearance of regular working meetings on sodium and human disease on the international scientific schedule. The ultimate goal is for this scientific discourse to lead to evidence-based programs for population salt consumption that will contribute to the betterment of human health.