Exploring the impact of soil and water salinity on dietary behavior and health risk of coastal communities in Bangladesh

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of soil and water salinity on dietary behavior and health risk in the coastal people of Bangladesh. This study was conducted among 240 respondents in rural coastal sub-districts in Khulna and Patuakhali of Bangladesh using a simple random sampling technique. To evaluate the association between health risk and salinity exposure categories, a multinomial logit regression analysis was conducted and statistical significance was declared at p ≤ 0.05. A significantly higher amount of salinity (NaCl) level was found in radish, potato, bean, bitter gourd, rice, shallow tube-well, and pond water from Patuakhali than Khulna. Males and those aged 36-50 years (RRR:1.89, SE:0.58) and 51-65 years (RRR:4.51, SE:1.81) were associated with hypertension…