Background: High blood pressure (BP) is not considered a problem in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF). The loss of sodium in these patients may affect their sensitivity to the taste of salt.
Objectives: To study the BP in a group of patients with CF and to analyse their salt intake profile and the relationship with their BP levels.
Patients and methods: Cross-sectional analytical study with control group. Index group: 20 subjects, 4-30 years old with diagnosis of CF.
Control group: 73 healthy subjects. Physical examination, BP measurement and specific tests to determine the salt ingestion profile.
Results: Systolic BP (SBP) and diastolic BP (DBP) values were lower in the CF group. SBP: 99.63+/-9.11mmHg vs. 111.94+/-10.71mmHg, P: 0.001. DBP: 57.84+/-7.40mmHg vs. 70.05+/-8.11mmHg, P: 0.001. When these values were adjusted for age, sex, weight and height of the participants, differences did not remain statistically significant. Values of the salt intake profile did not differ significantly between the two groups. While the control group showed a significant negative correlation between SBP and salt taste sensitivity (r: -0.341, P=0.003), this correlation was not confirmed in CF patients (r: -0.115 P=0.6).
Conclusions: BP values and the salt intake profile values in CF patients are equivalent to the normal population values when their differences are adjusted to the potential confounding factors. There is no correlation between BP levels and salt taste sensitivity in patients with CF.