Effects of water hardness and salt intake on the formation and disappearance of experimental atherosclerosis
Zhang, S.T.
Zhonghua Yu Fang Yi Xue Za Zhi 27(2): 97-100
1993
ISSN/ISBN: 0253-9624 PMID: 8354115 Document Number: 409072
The present study examined the effects of water-hardness and salt-intake, both of which were higher in north China than in the south, on experimental atherosclerosis in quail. At the end of the experiment atherosclerotic lesions in the high-salt groups were found to be more marked than those in the low-salt groups. No significant difference in total cholesterol value was found between the two groups. There was a significant positive correlation between the degree of atherosclerosis and serum-sodium value (r = 0.501, P < 0.01). There was no difference in all values between hard-water or soft-water groups. Our study suggested that high salt-intake stimulated and enhanced the formation of atherosclerosis while it delayed and impeded its disappearance, but water-hardness did not.