Day 252 - 20 May 96 - Page 40
1
2 What I am merely saying is that there is a great deal more
3 to the control of blood pressure than the sodium in these
4 particular populations.
5
6 Q. Then if you look in 6.4, which you seem to have just
7 touched on with lifestyle. I mean, read through it if you
8 want, but the relevant part I would like to draw to your
9 attention is in the seventh line up from the bottom where
10 it says:
11
12 "Their analysis, which allowed the separation of the
13 effects of urbanisation and of sodium, suggested that both
14 urbanisation and sodium have independent effects throughout
15 the range of observed blood pressures."
16
17 Would you accept that?
18 A. Yes, that seems reasonable.
19
20 Q. The last part of 6.6.5, the fourth line up says:
21
22 "Based on their data and the average age of the English
23 population, an average reduction in systolic blood pressure
24 of about 3.5 millimetres HG would be expected to result
25 from an average reduction in sodium of 50 mmol/day."
26
27 Would you agree with that?
28 A. Yes, I have no reason to disagree with it. I think if
29 you are talking about the average age of the English
30 population, we are talking about an average change but that
31 change would be almost entirely confined to the older
32 section of the population. That is the section about which
33 we would be concerned.
34
35 Q. The effects of sodium on the diet are something that can
36 have an effect over a matter of a few weeks; are they not,
37 5 weeks? You would agree with that?
38 A. I am not sure that it would be as rapid as that on
39 blood pressure.
40
41 MR. MORRIS: If you read the first sentence of that first
42 paragraph?
43
44 MS. STEEL: It says "at least 5 weeks"?
45 A. "At least 5 weeks", yes.
46
47 Q. Basically, the effects can start happening after about 5
48 weeks and that is fairly -- well, I do not know, I consider
49 that to be fairly rapid?
50 A. It is encouraging, yes.
51
52 Q. If we go over the page in 6.6.8, and incidentally in 6.6.7
53 they say: "There is levels of the dietary potassium intake
54 reducing blood pressure at the moment". Would you agree
55 with that?
56 A. I am sorry, which section?
57
58 MR. JUSTICE BELL: 6.6.7 on the top of page 138?
59 A. Yes, the same with both sodium and potassium, in fact.
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