Concordance with DASH Diet and Blood Pressure Change: Result from Framingham Offspring Cohort (1991‐2008)

Abstract

The Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet was developed to prevent and lower high blood pressure (BP).However, inconsistent results exist between short‐term clinical trials and long‐term observational studies. We evaluated associations of concordance with the DASH diet and BP trajectories and incidence of hypertension in 2,187 men and women (mean age=53y at exam 5) participating in the Framingham Offspring cohort. Diet and BP was assessed at exams 5 through 8 (1991 to 2008), ~13y of follow‐up. DASH scores were calculated by summing 10 food components including food groups that have been shown to influence BP outcomes (e.g. fruits and vegetables, low‐fat dairy products, lean meat and plant‐based protein). Mixed effect and Cox regression models were applied to assess the association of concordance with the DASH diet and BP longitudinal change and incidence of hypertension adjusted for age, sex, smoking, history of diabetes, BMI and physical activity. A modest positive change in systolic BP of 0.054 mmHg/year per unit increase in DASH score (p=0.028) was observed. No significant associations were observed for diastolic BP or incidence of hypertension. Our findings suggest that concordance with DASH diet may not play a role in BP longitudinal change and incidence of hypertension in a population of older adults.