In men and women with high blood pressure in Shanxi Province, women’s blood pressure seems to be more closely linked to how much salt and potassium they pee out, and this link shows up in more ways than it does in men.

In Shanxi Province, men with high blood pressure tend to pee out more salt than women with high blood pressure, even though they both pee out similar amounts of potassium—this suggests men might be eating more salt or keeping more salt in their bodies than women.

In people in Shanxi Province with high blood pressure, those who excrete more sodium in their urine tend to have higher blood pressure readings, and this link is even stronger in women, which might mean salt affects women’s blood pressure more than men’s.

People in Shanxi Province with high blood pressure who pee out less potassium tend to have higher blood pressure, especially at night—and this pattern is stronger in women than in men.

In people with high blood pressure in Shanxi Province, those who excrete more sodium in their urine tend to have higher blood pressure—even when you account for things like age, weight, diabetes, and cholesterol—and this link is even stronger in women.

In hospitalized adults with high blood pressure in Shanxi, people who have more salt in their morning urine tend to have higher blood pressure numbers, even when you account for their age, weight, gender, or whether they smoke.