Summary In 2019, a diet high in sodium was responsible for 44·9 million (95% UI 13·0–94·7) DALYs and 1·89 million (0·477–4·19) deaths. It was the leading dietary risk factor for attributable DALYs.

Definition Diet high in sodium is defined as average 24-hour urinary sodium excretion (in grams per day) greater than 3 grams.

Total sources
Exposure 92
Relative risk 21
Table 1: Total sources used in GBD 2019 estimation
What is new in GBD 2019?
  • •The method of bias adjustment for dietary surveys was updated using MR-BRT.
  • •We updated the dose–response curve of relative risk for sodium and stomach cancer based on the most recent epidemiological evidence and a newly developed method for characterising the risk curve.
Deaths
YLLs
YLDs
DALYs
Number
(millions)
Rate (per
100 000)
Number
(millions)
Rate (per
100 000)
Number
(millions)
Rate (per
100 000)
Number
(millions)
Rate (per
100 000)
2019
Both Sexes
1·89 (0·477
to 4·19)
23·6 (5·9
to 52·9)
40·7 (11·6
to 86·3)
493·1 (138·1
to 1050·3)
4·14 (1·26
to 8·61)
49·9 (15·1
to 104·5)
44·9 (13·0
to 94·7)
543·0 (156·1
to 1152·3)
Females
0·689 (0·113
to 1·73)
15·7 (2·6
to 39·4)
13·1 (2·46
to 31·9)
301·1 (56·5
to 730·4)
1·88 (0·451
to 4·21)
43·2 (10·4
to 97·0)
15·0 (2·94
to 36·0)
344·3 (67·7
to 826·1)
Males
1·20 (0·346
to 2·47)
33·0 (9·3
to 69·9)
27·6 (8·63
to 54·5)
703·5 (214·1
to 1408·5)
2·26 (0·804
to 4·48)
57·3 (19·9
to 113·8)
29·9 (9·59
to 58·6)
760·8 (238·1
to 1512·8)
Percentage change 2010-19
Both Sexes
14·6% (–1·0
to 25·5)
–11·9% (–23·3
to –3·3)
9·6% (–5·6
to 21·5)
–13·6% (–25·8
to –4·5)
28·5% (20·3
to 35·8)
1·4% (–4·4
to 7·1)
11·1% (–3·4
to 22·1)
–12·4% (–23·5
to –3·6)
Females
15·6% (–6·8
to 30·1)
–11·9% (–27·9
to –0·5)
10·3% (–13·0
to 24·7)
–13·7% (–31·6
to –2·3)
30·2% (17·7
to 42·0)
2·8% (–6·7
to 11·9)
12·5% (–9·5
to 25·9)
–11·9% (–28·7
to –1·4)
Males
14·1% (–3·1
to 29·7)
–12·1% (–24·8
to –0·6)
9·3% (–7·9
to 25·8)
–13·6% (–26·9
to –0·7)
27·1% (18·0
to 37·1)
0·3% (–6·6
to 8·3)
10·5% (–5·6
to 26·0)
–12·7% (–25·3
to –0·2)
Numbers in parentheses are 95% uncertainty intervals.
Table 2: Attributable global deaths, YLLs, YLDs, and DALYs in counts and age-standardised rates for both sexes combined, females, and males, 2019, with percentage change between 2010 and 2019
Deaths YLLs YLDs DALYs
1990 13th 16th 23rd 16th
2010 11th 15th 24th 15th
2019 9th 13th 23rd 13th
Table 3: Rank among attributable Level 3 risks plus most detailed Level 2 risks of global deaths, YLLs, YLDs, and DALYs in 1990, 2010, and 2019 for both sexes combined
Figure 1: Composition of attributable global DALYs by constituent Level 2 causes for both sexes combined, 2019
Figure 2: Composition of attributable global DALYs by YLLs and YLDs, age group, and sex, 2019
No Legend
Figure 3: Age-standardised all-cause SEV by location, both sexes combined, 2019
No Legend
Figure 4: Percentage change in all-cause age-standardised SEV by SDI, both sexes combined, 1990–2019
Figure 5: Percentage of population exposed to risk factor, both sexes combined, 2019
Figure 6: All-cause mortality relative risk, both sexes combined, 2019