Frequent night time loo trips down to salt intake, study suggests

Research, presented at the European Society of Urology congress in London, has suggested that people suffering from nocturia (disrupted sleep due to frequent urination) should cut down on their salt intake to help tackle the problem.

The study, conducted by Nagasaki University, involved over 300 volunteers, with scientists following patients who had a high salt intake and sleeping problems for three months, after giving them advice to cut back on salt in their diet.

223 members of the group were able to reduce their salt intake from 10.7 gm per day to 8.0 gm/day. In this group, the average night-time frequency of urination dropped from 2.3 times/night to 1.4 times.

In contrast, 98 subjects increased their average salt intake from 9.6 gm/night to 11.0 gm/night, and they found that the need to urinate increased from 2.3 times/night to 2.7 times/night. The researchers also found that daytime urination was reduced when salt in the diet was reduced.

Dr Tomohiro, study author, said: “This is the first study to measure how salt intake affects the frequency of going to the bathroom, so we need to confirm the work with larger studies. Nigh- time urination is a real problem for many people, especially as they get older. This work holds out the possibility that a simply dietary modification might significantly improve the quality of life for many people”.

Dr Marcus Drake (Bristol, UK), working group lead for the EAU Guidelines Office Initiative on Nocturia, said: “This is an important aspect of how patients potentially can help themselves to reduce the impact of frequent urination. Research generally focusses on reducing the amount of water a patient drinks, and the salt intake is generally not considered. Here we have a useful study showing how we need to consider all influences to get the best chance of improving the symptom."