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High fruit intake is associated with a lower risk of future hypertension determined by home blood pressure measurement: the OHASAMA study

Abstract

We investigate associations of fruit and vegetable intake with the risk of future hypertension using home blood pressure in a general population from Ohasama, Japan. We obtained data from 745 residents aged 35 years without home hypertension at baseline. Dietary intake was measured using a validated 141-item food frequency questionnaire, and subjects were then divided into quartiles according to the fruit and vegetable intake. Home hypertension was defined as home systolic/diastolic blood pressure of 135/85 mm Hg and/or the use of antihypertensive medication. During a 4-year follow-up period, we identified 222 incident cases of home hypertension. After adjustment for all putative confounding factors, the highest quartile of fruit intake was associated with a significantly lower risk of future home hypertension (odds ratio 0.40, 95% confidence interval 0.22–0.74, P=0.004). In conclusion, this study, based on home blood pressure measurement, suggests that higher intake of fruit is associated with a lower risk of future home hypertension.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported in part by Grants for Scientific Research (15790293, 16590433, 17790381, 18390192, 18590587, 19590929 and 19790423) from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan; Grants-in-Aid (H17-Kenkou-007, H18-Junkankitou (Seishuu)-Ippan-012 and H20-Junkankitou (Seishuu)-Ippan-009, 013) from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Health and Labor Sciences Research Grants, Japan; Grants-in-Aid for Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) fellows (16.54041, 18.54042, 19.7152, 20.7198, 20.7477 and 20.54043); Health Science Research Grants and Medical Technology Evaluation Research Grants from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Japan; Japan Atherosclerosis Prevention Fund; Uehara Memorial Foundation; Takeda Medical Research Foundation; National Cardiovascular Research Grants; and Biomedical Innovation Grants.

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Correspondence to M Tsubota-Utsugi.

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Tsubota-Utsugi, M., Ohkubo, T., Kikuya, M. et al. High fruit intake is associated with a lower risk of future hypertension determined by home blood pressure measurement: the OHASAMA study. J Hum Hypertens 25, 164–171 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/jhh.2010.48

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