Potassium Salt Swap Could Avert Nearly 3 Million Deaths a Year, Study Says

A new modelling study in Nature Health estimates that replacing regular table salt with a blend of 25 percent potassium chloride and 75 percent sodium chloride could prevent about 2.96 million deaths worldwide each year. The research, led by the George Institute for Global Health and UNSW Sydney, covered roughly 4.63 billion adults in 193 countries.

Beyond deaths, the model projects around 10.17 million fewer new cases of cardiovascular and kidney disease and 69.43 million disability-adjusted life years averted annually. The numbers rest on modelled blood pressure reductions rather than direct trial measurements, so they represent potential benefit under ideal adoption and not a guaranteed outcome for any single household.

There is a safety trade-off. People with advanced chronic kidney disease can struggle to clear potassium, and the study projects about 0.1 million deaths from hyperkalemia in that group, a figure the authors say may be overestimated. They call for kidney screening and clear labelling, and note that rollout could take decades.