The National Health Fund (NHF) paid out $1.4 billion last year to accommodate treatment for hypertension, which accounts for 25 per cent of conditions on record for beneficiaries, even though there are 17 conditions listed overall under the fund.

Everton Anderson, chief executive officer of the NHF, made note of the prevalence and costs associated with hypertension while speaking at Tuesday’s launch of a knowledge, attitudes and practices study around salt consumption in Jamaica, which is being conducted by the Ministry of Health and Wellness.

The project is a collaborative effort between the Ministry and the Caribbean Institute for Health Research, with funding by the NHF.

During the launch, held virtually, Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton said the study would form part of the Ministry’s efforts to inform consumers on healthy lifestyle choices.

“We have to tackle health from two perspectives, it has to be tackled initially from the prevention perspective and the core of that is consumer information, and then policies that encourage or nudge health-seeking behaviours, and these baseline studies that we’re doing, including this one, is aimed at doing that,” he said.

He also said healthy habits are critical to the quality and length of an individual’s life, especially in fighting against viruses like the novel coronavirus which causes COVID-19.

“I think COVID-19, which is responsible for close to four million deaths and counting with over 1,000 deaths in Jamaica, if you dissect those deaths, you’ll recognise the importance of lifestyle and why it is critical that we promote healthy living as part of our overall resilience as individuals and as a society,” Tufton said.

The health ministry stressed that gathering local data would assist the Ministry in developing a roadmap with scientific recommendations to tackle the crisis of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), which are diseases not directly transmissible from one person to another.

High salt consumption, however, can cause persons to develop hypertension which leads to cardiovascular diseases, including strokes, kidney diseases, cancers and diabetes.

Professor Trevor Ferguson, director of the Epidemiology Research Unit at the Caribbean Institute for Health, said the project would be divided into five components.

NATIONAL SURVEY OF 1,200 PARTICIPANTS

He said they will observe spot urine analysis, sodium content in packaged foods and salt content of food sold in restaurants.

In addition there will be “a national survey of 1,200 participants to evaluate knowledge about salt intake and health, attitudes with regard to salt intake and low salt diet and current practices of salt intake, and a validation study using 24-hour urinary sodium”.

Salt, scientifically known as sodium chloride, is a major component of meals in most countries and is commonly used to flavour food, as a binder, stabiliser or food preservative.

Ferguson said it was estimated that humans need about 500 micrograms of sodium to carry out normal body functions such as water balance and nerve conduction. However, increased salt intake has been shown to negatively affect heart systems and is responsible for three million deaths globally.