The relationships of the variety and quantity of different sources of
dietary proteins with
hypertension remain uncertain. We aimed to investigate associations between the variety and quantity of
proteins intake from 8 major food sources and new-onset
hypertension among 12 177 participants from the China Health and Nutrition Survey. Dietary intake was measured by 3 consecutive 24-hour dietary recalls combined with a household food inventory. The variety score of
protein sources was defined as the number of
protein sources consumed at the appropriate level, accounting for types and quantity of
proteins. New-onset
hypertension was defined as systolic blood pressure ≥140 mm Hg and diastolic blood pressure ≥90 mm Hg, or physician-diagnosed
hypertension or receiving
antihypertensive treatment, during the follow-up. During a median follow-up of 6.1 years, there were U-shaped associations of percentages energy from total, unprocessed or processed red meat-derived, whole grain-derived, and poultry-derived
proteins with new-onset
hypertension; an reverse J-shaped association of fish-derived
protein with new-onset
hypertension; L-shaped associations of eggs-derived and legumes-derived
proteins with new-onset
hypertension; and an reverse L-shaped association of refined grain-derived
protein with new-onset
hypertension (all P values for nonlinearity <0.001). That is, for each
protein, there is a window of consumption (appropriate level) where the risk of
hypertension is lower. Moreover, a significantly lower risk of new-onset
hypertension was found in those with higher variety score of
protein sources (per score increment, hazard ratio, 0.74 [95% CI, 0.72-0.76]). In summary, there was an inverse association between the variety of
proteins with appropriate quantity from different food sources and new-onset
hypertension.