Abstract
OBJECTIVES: To examine the trends in the consumption of fermented foods and sodium intake over time, using data from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES). METHODS: This research study is a secondary analysis using KNHANES data from 1998 to 2016 which is a cross-sectional survey. The target population was Korean adults, ages ≥19 years and the total number was 76,199, with 32,324 men and 43,875 women. Assessment of fermented food consumption and sodium intake was conducted via analysis of 24-hour dietary recall data. Multivariate linear regressions and logistic regressions were performed to calculate the P for trends by applying strata, cluster, and sampling weights by SAS PROC SURVEY. Age was standardized for all analyses in order to calculate P for trends for education, income, fermented food consumption, and sodium intake. RESULTS: A significant decline in fermented food consumption was observed in both men and women (P < 0.0001). Among fermented foods, kimchi consumption was greatly reduced while pickled vegetables consumption showed a marked increase. Similarly, sodium intake from fermented foods significantly declined over time in both men and women (P < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: The consumption of fermented foods and sodium intake from fermented foods by Korean adults significantly decreased over time from 1998 to 2016. FUNDING SOURCES: N/A.