Effect of Community Pharmacist-Led Dietary Salt Restriction Guidance on Salt Taste Sensitivity in Outpatients with Chronic Kidney Disease: A Pilot Study

Abstract

An increased salt taste sensitivity threshold may lead to high salt intake in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). The present study aimed to evaluate whether community pharmacist-led dietary salt restriction guidance improved salt taste sensitivity; its association with salt intake in outpatients with CKD was quantified. A multicenter, prospective, open-label, single-arm study was conducted with a before-and-after comparison design in six community pharmacies. Eligible patients (n = 14) with an estimated glomerular filtration rate <60 mL/min/1.73 m² received salt restriction guidance from pharmacists, and a sodium-impregnated strip test, a tool for assessing salt taste sensitivity, was conducted in community pharmacies. Daily estimated salt intake was calculated from spot urine samples collected at the hospital. The primary outcome was the change in the threshold of taste recognition at 12 weeks post-intervention. The association between changes in the taste recognition threshold and estimated salt intake was evaluated using regression analysis. The median taste recognition threshold significantly decreased from 1.20 (interquartile range [IQR]: 0.80–1.35) to 1.00 (IQR: 0.80–1.00) (p = 0.033). Seventy-one percent of patients with a baseline threshold ≥0.8% showed improvement, with an effect size of −0.57. A greater reduction in the threshold was associated with a decreasing trend in the estimated salt intake. In conclusion, this pilot study suggests that community pharmacist-led dietary salt restriction guidance may improve salt taste recognition thresholds in outpatients with CKD. The sodium-impregnated strip test may be useful in promoting awareness of dietary salt restriction and in reflecting changes related to salt intake in community pharmacy settings.