Association of dietary pattern and body weight with blood pressure in Jiangsu Province, China

Background To identify risk factors, associations between dietary patterns, body mass index (BMI), and hypertension in a Chinese population. Methods Dietary intake was assessed in 2518 adults by a 3-day 24 h recall and a food frequency questionnaire. Salt and oil intake was assessed by weighing records. Four dietary patterns were identified using principal component analysis. Overweight and obesity was determined according to the Chinese cut-offs for BMI. High blood pressure was defined as systolic blood pressure¿=¿140 mmHg and/or diastolic blood pressure¿=¿90 mmHg. Prevalence ratios (PR) were calculated using Poisson regression. Results Of the subjects, 26.7% had high blood pressure. Subjects with overweight and obesity were more likely to have high blood pressure than those with normal weight (PR, 95% CI: 1.60, 1.40-1.87; 2.45, 2.11-2.85, respectively). Subjects with a ‘traditional’ dietary pattern were more likely to have high blood pressure (P for trend¿=¿0.001), whereas those with a ‘macho’ or ‘sweet tooth’ dietary pattern were less likely to have high blood pressure (P for trend¿=¿0.004 and ¿9 g/d, and blood pressure increased with salt intake (P for trend