Inverse Association between the Global Diet Quality Score and New-Onset Hypertension in Adults: A Nationwide Cohort Study.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

The Global Diet Quality Score (GDQS) is a simple and practical dietary metric associated with a number of chronic diseases. The GDQS included various foods related to blood pressure, especially diverse plant-based foods that have shown to lower blood pressure. However, studies on the role of the GDQS in reducing the risk of new-onset hypertension and whether its performance differs from that of other dietary metrics are lacking.

OBJECTIVE:

We aimed to examine the association between the GDQS and new-onset hypertension and to compare its performance with that of other dietary patterns, including the Plant-based Diet Index (PDI), alternate Mediterranean diet (aMED) score, Alternative Healthy Eating Index-2010, and Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) score in Chinese adults.

METHODS:

We included a total of 12,002 participants (5644 males and 6358 females) aged >18 y from the China Health and Nutrition Survey (1997-2015). Dietary intake was estimated using average food intakes from 3 consecutive 24-h dietary recalls. Multivariable relative risks (RRs) were computed for hypertension using modified Poisson regression models.

RESULTS:

With ≤18 y of follow-up (mean 8.7± 5.4 y), we ascertained 4232 incident cases of hypertension. Compared with participants with a low GDQS score (<15), the multivariable-adjusted RR of hypertension was 0.72 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.62, 0.83] among participants with a high score (≥23). A 25% increment in the GDQS was associated with a 30% (RR, 0.70; 95% CI: 0.64, 0.76) lower risk of new-onset hypertension, which was comparable with the RRs of new-onset hypertension associated with every 25% increment in the PDI (RR, 0.84; 95% CI: 0.76, 0.93), DASH score (RR, 0.84; 95% CI: 0.78, 0.91), and aMED score (RR, 0.89; 95% CI: 0.84, 0.93).

CONCLUSION:

A higher GDQS was associated with a lower risk of new-onset hypertension, with comparable associations of new-onset hypertension with PDI, DASH, and aMED scores in Chinese adults.

• Authors: Zhihao Liu, Dan Zhao, Suming Dai, Ying Liang, Mingzhu Zhao, Meitong Liu, Zepei Zhong, Lihan Liang, Zezhong Tian, Yan Yang
• Journal: The Journal of nutrition (J Nutr) Vol. 154 Issue 4 Pg. 1252-1261 (Apr 2024) ISSN: 1541-6100 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 38360116 (Publication Type: Journal Article)
• Copyright: Copyright © 2024 American Society for Nutrition. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Topics

• Adult
• Male
• Female
• Humans
• Cohort Studies
• Diet
• Hypertension (epidemiology, etiology)
• Diet, Mediterranean
• Dietary Approaches To Stop Hypertension
• Diet, Healthy