Eating frequency predicts new onset hypertension and the rate of progression of blood pressure, arterial stiffness, and wave reflections

Abstract

In a population of nondiabetic adults without cardiovascular disease, eating frequency is associated with the rate of progression of wave reflections, blood pressure and of new onset hypertension. Interventional studies should confirm these data and possibly further assess the utility of eating behavior in the prevention of new onset hypertension and related target organ damage.

Eating patterns of Australian adults: associations with blood pressure and hypertension prevalence

“…Four models were tested: model 1 was an unadjusted model; model 2 adjusted for age (years, continuous), education level (low, medium or high), country of birth (Australia, other predominantly English-speaking countries, all other countries), smoking status (never, former or current), daily, meeting physical activity guidelines (yes/no), daily sedentary time (min; continuous), sleep duration (h, continuous), dieting for health reasons (yes/no); model 3 further adjusted for BMI, and model 4 further adjusted for total energy intake and DGI scores (both continuous). In light of the previous research that reported a positive association among participants with the highest EO frequencies (i.e., > 5 EO) [13], in the present study, any observed statistically significant ( P < 0.05) adjusted association between the continuous measures of frequencies of EO, meals, or snacks, and the outcome variables were further explored by examining associations for eating pattern frequency categories (e.g., 1–3 [reference], 4–5 or ≥ 6 EO; 1–2 [reference], 3 or > 3 meals and 0–1 [reference], and 2–3 or > 3 snacks). Finally, the effect of energy misreporting, defined as the ratio of total energy intake to total energy expenditure was considered [35]; however, its inclusion did not improve its predictive power when BMI was already in the model.…”

“…Only a few studies have examined the relationship between EO frequency and BP among adults [12, 13, 16, 17], with conflicting findings. However, it is difficult to compare the results of these studies, because they define EO using different approaches.…”

“…For example, EO have mostly been self-reported by participants in response to a single survey question where an EO is not further defined [12, 17]. Whereas in another study, in a small sample of healthy volunteers ( n = 115), EO was defined as any eating event (including kilojoule-free events) separated in time by 15 min [13]. A higher EO frequency has been associated with lower hypertension prevalence [12] and incidence [13], whereas other studies have found no associations with BP [16, 17].…”

“…Whereas in another study, in a small sample of healthy volunteers ( n = 115), EO was defined as any eating event (including kilojoule-free events) separated in time by 15 min [13]. A higher EO frequency has been associated with lower hypertension prevalence [12] and incidence [13], whereas other studies have found no associations with BP [16, 17]. In the present study, EO frequency was inversely associated with DBP and hypertension prevalence among men, but these associations attenuated after further adjustment for total energy intakes and overall diet quality.…”

“…However, evidence for associations with EO frequency is less consistent [4]. In three studies, a higher EO frequency (e.g., ≥ 5 EO per day) was associated with lower SBP [12, 13] and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) [13, 14]. In support of these findings, a review of short-term experimental studies found that six or more meals per day, compared to one meal, resulted in favourable decreases in cardiometabolic risk markers [15].…”