The higher adherence to the DASH diet the lower incidence and mortality from cardiovascular disease and all causes: ELSA-Brasil study

To investigate the association between adherence to the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality and all-cause mortality. The study included 14,621 participants from the ELSA-Brasil cohort. DASH adherence was assessed at baseline using a continuous score. Fine-Gray competing risk models were for MACE and CVD mortality, and Cox models for all-cause mortality. Models were adjusted for sociodemographic factors, behaviours, comorbidities, weight change, and total energy intake. Mean age was 52 years (SD 9), and mean DASH score was 23.9 (SD 4.4). Each one-point increase in the DASH score was associated with lowerrisk of MACE (sHR 0.96; 95% CI 0.92-0.99), CVD mortality (sHR 0.95; 95% CI 0.92-1.00), and all-cause mortality (HR 0.97; 95% CI 0.95-0.98). Greater DASH adherence was associated with lower incidence of MACE and reduced CVD and all-cause mortality in Brazilian adults.