Taking in too much salt could help spur the skin ailment eczema Higher sodium intake also appeared linked to worse eczema severity Excess salt can end up being stored in the skin, where it might trigger inflammation WEDNESDAY, June 5, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Doctors already warn folks off salt due to its heart risks, but new research suggests sodium isn't helping your skin either. Researchers found that as daily salt intake rose, so did the odds for the skin disorder eczema, also known as atopic dermatitis. "Restriction of dietary sodium intake may be a cost-effective and low-risk intervention for atopic dermatitis," concluded a team led by Dr.
Katrina Abuabara , associate professor of dermatology at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). The data came from on an ongoing British research database called the UK Biobank, involving almost 216,000 people aged 37 and older at the time they were recruited into the study. As part of the Biobank effort, people were asked to provide a urine sample, which could then be used to gauge a person's sodium intake.
About 5% of the people in the Biobank had a diagnosis of eczema. The average person's 24-hour "urine sodium excretion" was about 3 grams, but the study found that folks' daily excretion of sodium went up by just 1 gram, their odds for a flare-up of their eczema rose by 22%. The effect seemed stronger among women than men.
People whose urine sample suggested high salt intake faced an 11% higher odds of severe eczema, t.
