Dietary patterns and hypertension in Chinese adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis

TL;DR

This study finds that certain dietary patterns, like traditional southern Chinese and fruit and dairy diets, are linked to lower hypertension risk in Chinese adults.

Contribution

The study provides a meta-analysis of dietary patterns and hypertension risk specifically in the Chinese population.

Findings

The traditional southern Chinese dietary pattern is associated with a reduced risk of hypertension.

A fruit and dairy dietary pattern is linked to a 25% lower risk of hypertension.

The animal food dietary pattern does not significantly affect hypertension risk.

Abstract

Numerous studies have explored the correlation between dietary patterns and the risk of hypertension, yet the findings have remained indeterminate. We performed a meta-analysis to evaluate how various dietary patterns relate to hypertension risk in the Chinese population.

Relevant articles published from 1 January 2004 to 14 March 2024 in five databases (PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, CNKI, and VIP) were searched. Fixed or random-effects models were employed to estimate the multivariable-adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) comparing the highest and lowest categories of dietary patterns.

In total, 22 articles were incorporated into the meta-analysis. The pooled results indicated a reduced likelihood for hypertension in the highest compared to the lowest category of the traditional southern Chinese pattern (OR = 0.95, 95% CI: 0.92–0.97, p < 0.001). In addition, compared to the lowest category of fruit and dairy pattern, the risk of the highest category had a 25% reduction in hypertension risk (OR = 0.75, 95% CI: 0.64–0.89, p = 0.001). Nevertheless, there was no significant correlation between the animal food pattern and the odds of hypertension (OR = 1.06, 95% CI: 0.98–1.15, p = 0.171).

The traditional southern Chinese pattern as well as the fruit and dairy pattern was a protective factor for hypertension. High-quality, large-scale studies are needed to confirm the findings of the current meta-analysis further.

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