Association of consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages with elevated blood pressure among college students in Yunnan Province, China

Abstract

Objective: Although some studies have examined the association between eating behaviour and elevated blood pressure (EBP) in adolescents, current data on the association between sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) and EBP in adolescents in Yunnan Province, China are lacking. Setting: Cluster sampling was used to survey freshmen at a college in Kunming, Yunnan Province, from November to December. Data on SSB consumption were collected using a food frequency questionnaire measuring height, weight, and blood pressure. A Logistic regression model was used to analyse the association between SSB consumption and EBP, encompassing prehypertension and hypertension with sex-specific analyses. Participants: The analysis included 4,781 college students. Results: Elevated systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) were detected in 35.10% (1678/4781) and 39.34% (1881/4781) of patients, respectively. After adjusting for confounding variables, tea beverage consumption was associated with elevated SBP (odds ratio (OR) = 1.24, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.03–1.49, P = 0.024), carbonated beverage (OR = 1.23, 95% CI: 1.04–1.45, P = 0.019) and milk beverage (OR = 0.81, 95% CI: 0.69–0.95, P = 0.010) consumption was associated with elevated DBP in college students. Moreover, fruit beverage (OR = 1.32, 95% CI: 1.00–1.75, P = 0.048) and milk beverage consumption (OR = 0.69, 95% CI: 0.52–0.93, P = 0.014) was associated with elevated DBP in males. Conclusion: Our findings indicated that fruit and milk beverage consumption was associated with elevated DBP in males, and no association was observed with EBP in females.