Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices of the Populations of Dapaong and Its Surroundings in Togo on Sodium/Salt and Potassium Intakes

Background: Food plays an important role in human health. A healthy diet contributes to the improvement of the health of populations. A diet high in sodium/salt and low in potassium has been shown to contribute to cardiovascular disease. The objective of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) of the inhabitants of Dapaong and its surroundings on dietary intakes of sodium/salt and potassium. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted from 1 November to 15 December 2022 involving 400 adults aged 25 to 44 years. Sampling was done using the probability method and the multistage random sampling technique with proportional allocation. These two methods were applied to select villages, households, and primary targets in each locality according to whether the area of residence was urban or rural. The electronic kobocollect questionnaire was administered to people in households and the interview guide was to resource persons, administrators and community leaders to collect the data. Results: Overall, 80.25% of the respondents had low knowledge of sodium/salt intakes; 88.50% had poor attitudes towards the use of foods that provide more sodium/salt and 92.75% had behaviours that were not conducive to reducing excessive salt consumption. With regard to potassium, the same trend was observed in the order of 91%, 72% and 73.75%. Conclusion: The KAP levels of the people studied were not good. The populations are prone to cardiovascular disease. A multisectoral nutritional intervention would be essential to improve the knowledge of the populations on sodium/salt and potassium intakes and therefore favourable to the fight against CVD/NCD.