Association between plant-based diets and blood pressure in the INTERMAP study

Area of Science:

• Cardiovascular Health
• Nutritional Science
• Public Health

Background:

• Plant-based diets are recognized for reducing cardiovascular disease risk.
• The specific impact of diet healthiness on blood pressure (BP) remains less understood.
• Existing plant-based diet indices were adapted for diverse global dietary patterns.

Purpose of the Study:

• To modify and assess three plant-based diet indices: PDI, hPDI, and uPDI.
• To evaluate the association between these modified indices and blood pressure (BP).
• To enable cross-population analysis of diet and BP relationships.

Main Methods:

• Utilized cross-sectional data from 4,680 adults (ages 40-59) in the INTERMAP study (Japan, China, UK, US).
• Collected eight BP measurements and four 24-hour dietary recalls per participant.
• Employed multivariable regression, pooling, and weighting, with extensive adjustments for confounders.

Main Results:

• The overall plant-based diet index (PDI) showed no significant association with BP.
• A higher healthy plant-based diet index (hPDI) was inversely associated with systolic and diastolic BP.
• A higher unhealthy plant-based diet index (uPDI) was directly associated with systolic BP.

Conclusions:

• The nutritional quality of plant-based diets significantly impacts blood pressure.
• Diets rich in vegetables and whole grains, and low in refined grains, sugar-sweetened beverages, and meat, are associated with lower BP.
• Emphasizes the importance of plant food quality alongside limiting animal-based foods for BP management.