Nutritional influence on risk of high blood pressure in Bangladesh: a population-based cross-sectional study.
BACKGROUND
The nutritional determinants of hypertension in Bangladesh and other low-income countries are largely unknown.


OBJECTIVE
We assessed the associations of general hypertension with nutrient intakes and diet patterns in Bangladesh.


METHODS
This was a cross-sectional analysis of 11 116 participants enrolled in the Health Effects of Arsenic Longitudinal Study in Bangladesh. Dietary intakes were measured by use of a validated food-frequency questionnaire.


RESULTS
Three major dietary patterns were identified by using principal component analysis: 1) the "balanced" pattern, which was characterized by rice, some meat, small fish, fruit, and vegetables; 2) the "animal protein" pattern, which was more heavily weighted on meat, milk, poultry, eggs, bread, large fish, and fruit; and 3) the "gourd and root vegetable" pattern, which consisted largely of squashes and root and leafy vegetables. Adjusted prevalence odds ratios for general hypertension in increasing quintiles of balanced pattern scores were 1.00 (reference), 0.81 (95% CI: 0.79, 0.97), 0.82 (0.68, 0.97), 0.79 (0.66, 0.94), and 0.71 (0.59, 0.85) (P for trend < 0.01). Prevalence odds ratios for general hypertension in increasing quintiles of animal protein pattern scores were 1.00 (reference), 1.30 (1.01, 1.52), 1.20 (1.01, 1.47), 1.22 (1.00, 1.44), and 1.21 (1.03, 1.49) (P for trend = 0.23). Markers of high socioeconomic status were positively associated with the animal protein pattern.


CONCLUSIONS
Our findings suggest the importance of dietary patterns in general hypertension in a low-income population undergoing the early stage of the epidemiologic transition.
Chen
Yu
Y
Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA. y.chen@med.nyu.edu
Factor-Litvak
Pam
P
Howe
Geoffrey R
GR
Parvez
Faruque
F
Ahsan
Habibul
H
D000328:Adult; D001459:Bangladesh / Q000453:epidemiology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004032:Diet; D004034:Diet Surveys; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008460:Meat / Q000009:adverse effects*; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011203:Poverty; D015995:Prevalence; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012923:Social Class; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires