Association of BMI and nutritional habits with hypertension in the adult population of Croatia

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of the present study was to investigate the distribution of hypertension, its nutritional and other determinants and their association in Croatia. Design: Population-based, cross-sectional study. Setting: Croatia. Subjects: Representative random sample of 9070 adults (18 years and older) from all Croatian regions, selected using multistage sampling. Results: Overall prevalence of hypertension (arterial blood pressure $140/ 90 mmHg) in Croatia was 45?5 %, of which 40 % were newly diagnosed hypertensives. There was no difference in the percentage of hypertensives between the continental and Mediterranean parts of Croatia. Newly diagnosed hypertension was found to be positively associated with increased BMI, age and alcohol consumption in the total sample and with moderate consumption of coffee in women, as well as inversely associated with regular consumption of fruits and vegetables in the total sample and high consumption of coffee in the total sample and in men. No association with newly diagnosed hypertension was recorded for use of animal fat, consumption of whole milk, smoked meat products, for adding salt, smoking and leisure-time physical activity. Conclusions: Hypertension is a major public health problem in both continental and Mediterranean parts of Croatia. Maintenance of normal body mass, its reduction if already increased, and regular consumption of fruits and vegetables are proposed as priorities for primary prevention of hypertension in Croatia.

Diet and blood pressure in 18–74-year-old adults

“…A recent survey carried out in a large Croatian adult sample also failed to highlight such an association [38]. This could be explained by underestimation of salt intake, as we used selfreported data, or by a low variability in population.…”

The prevalence of pre-hypertension and its association to established cardiovascular risk factors in south of Iran

“…Furthermore, hypertension is one of the most important health problems because of its relation to ischemic heart disease, which is the leading cause of death [2]. The prevalence of hypertension is 8-14% in population, worldwide [3].…”

“…High blood pressure and its complications is a significant problem and cardiovascular diseases are the most common cause of death in Iran [5]. Many of studies on different populations have identified certain factors such as older age, hypercholesterolemia, diabetes mellitus and increased body mass as being associated with high blood pressure [2,6,7]. The last years, some researchers have documented an increase in the risk of cardiovascular disease in subjects with systolic blood pressures (SBP) between 120 – 139 mmHg and/or diastolic blood pressures (DBP) between 80 – 89 mmHg [8,9].…”

A self‐monitoring urinary salt excretion level measurement device for educating young women about salt reduction: A parallel randomized trial involving two groups

“…There was also a significant decrease in systolic blood pressure only in the control group, while no change was observed in urinary salt excretion level (Table ). While the reason for this is unclear, we believe that some other factors besides nutritional intake, such as body weight, age, nutritional elements, a particular food item, physical activity, or other lifestyle factors were involved …”

“…The relationship between blood pressure and salt intake is complicated. Some reports showed no relationship, and that blood pressure is influenced by BMI and age rather than salt intake . Even in the DASH‐Sodium trial, where participants' salt intake or body weight were kept constant during the intervention period, it was observed that complex factors, such as measurement variables or environmental or behavioral stress, influenced participants' blood pressure .…”