Objective To explore the effects of low-sodium salt on blood pressure and to find out an economical,effective and easy-to-implement method to reduce the blood pressure.Methods This study was a randomized controlled study based on family unit.The participation families were recommended by local newspaper reporters and each family included at least 2 family members over 50 years old,who composed the objects of the study.The intervention group received two-month salt substitution intervention (with low sodium and high potassium) for free,while the control group received no intervention.Results The decrement of systolic blood pressure in intervention group was (4.7±10.9)mmHg,while the systolic blood pressure in control group was decreased by (2.6± 10.3)mmHg.The decline range of blood pressure was higher in the intervention group than in the control group,and there was a statistical significance in the difference (t=2.19,P＜0.05).Conclusions Salt substitution (with low sodium and high potassium) is an economical,effective and easy-to-implement method to reduce the blood pressure.Therefore,it is recommended to promote salt substitution (with low sodium and high potassium) in the crowd.

Global climate change is expected to pose increasing challenges for cities in the following decades, placing greater stress and impacts on multiple social and biophysical systems, including population health, coastal development, urban infrastructure, energy demand, and water supplies. Simultaneously, a strong global trend towards urbanisation of poverty exists, with increased challenges for urban populations and local governance to protect and sustain the wellbeing of growing cities. In the context of these 2 overarching trends, interdisciplinary research at the city scale is prioritised for understanding the social impacts of climate change and variability and for the evaluation of strategies in the built environment that might serve as adaptive responses to climate change. This article discusses 2 recent initiatives of The Earth Institute at Columbia University (EI) as examples of research that integrates the methods and objectives of several disciplines, including environmental health science and urban planning, to understand the potential public health impacts of global climate change and mitigative measures for the more localised effects of the urban heat island in the New York City metropolitan region. These efforts embody 2 distinct research approaches. The New York Climate & Health Project created a new integrated modeling system to assess the public health impacts of climate and land use change in the metropolitan region. The Cool City Project aims for more applied policy-oriented research that incorporates the local knowledge of community residents to understand the costs and benefits of interventions in the built environment that might serve to mitigate the harmful impacts of climate change and variability, and protect urban populations from health stressors associated with summertime heat. Both types of research are potentially useful for understanding the impacts of environmental change at the urban scale, the policies needed to address these challenges, and to train scholars capable of collaborative approaches across the social and biophysical sciences.
City Planning ; Environment ; Environment Design ; Greenhouse Effect ; New York City ; Research ; Urban Health