Researcher(s)
- Samantha Bellingham, Nutritional Science, University of Delaware
Faculty Mentor(s)
- Shannon Robson, Health Behavior and Nutrition Sciences, University of Delaware
Abstract
Background: Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of death. Adherence to healthy dietary patterns (Healthy US-style, Mediterranean-style, and Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension [DASH] diets) have been shown to reduce cardiovascular mortality. Limited research has examined the relationship between dietary patterns and pre-clinical cardiovascular disease markers such as blood pressure (BP) and endothelial function. The objective of this study was to examine the association between three different dietary patterns, and BP and endothelial function in adults.
Methods: This is a secondary analysis using baseline data from a randomized control trial that examined the effects of family meal frequency on cardiovascular health. Middle-aged adults (41.6±6.9 years, 94.7% female, 57.9% White) with 3-days of complete dietary records and a supine BP or flow mediated dilation (FMD) measure at baseline were included in the analysis. Adherence to each dietary pattern was determined using the Health Eating Index (HEI-2025) total score for the Healthy US-style (score: 0-100), aMed for the Mediterranean-style (score:0-9), and DASH score for the DASH-style diets (score: 0-80), with higher scores reflecting greater adherence to each dietary pattern. Unadjusted linear regression models were used to examine the relationship between each dietary pattern and BP and FMD.
Results: Mean total HEI-2025 was 57.5±12, aMed was 4.0±1.8, and DASH was 41.4±11.5. The mean supine blood pressure was 129.8±14.3/ 79.7±9.4 and corrected FMD was 6.7±2.6%. HEI-2025 total score was associated with systolic BP (p=0.014), diastolic BP (p=0.002) and FMD (p=0.018). The aMed diet was significantly associated with FMD (p=0.029), and the DASH diet with diastolic BP (p=0.041).
Conclusion: Despite a significant relationship between dietary patterns, BP and FMD; the associations were in the unexpected direction.