Blood pressure and dietary intake in a French population sample from three regions

In order to determine the possible relationship between nutritional factors and blood pressure (BP), a sample of 1128 men of the population living in the three French MONICA centres, Bas-Rhin (BR), Haute-Garonne (HG) and the Urban Community of Lille (UCL), was included in a nutritional survey. Of the sample, 16.2% were taking antihypertensive drugs and 34.1% of the remainder had high BP. Prevalence of high BP was greater in BR and UCL than in HG, the differences persisting after adjustment for body mass index (BMI) and age. BMI and geographic location were the best predictors of high systolic BP (SBP) and diastolic BP (DBP). Age was positively correlated with SBP, but not with DBP. Alcohol intake was the dietary component which had the most consistent relationship with SBP and DBP. However, greater intakes of total fat and of cholesterol were also associated with higher DBP and SBP respectively. A small but significant contribution of sodium chloride to SBP and DBP was also found, whereas no influence of the intake of calcium or of any diary product was observed.