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Association between dietary intake of polyunsaturated fatty acid and prevalence of hypertension in U.S. adults: A cross-sectional study using data from NHANES 2009–2016

Hypertension Research volume 45, pages 516–526 (2022)Cite this article

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the association between dietary polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) intake and the prevalence of hypertension in U.S. adults. Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2009–2016 were used. Total PUFAs and subtypes of PUFAs, including eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), docosapentaenoic acid (DPA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), linoleic acid (LA), and arachidonic acid (AA), were obtained through two 24 h recalls and adjusted by body weight. Hypertension was defined as the average of three measurements of blood pressure above 130/80 mmHg or taking antihypertensive medication. Weighted odds ratios (ORs) of hypertension and adjusted rate differences (ARDs) in prevalence, as well as their 95% confidence intervals (CIs), were estimated by using the logistic regression model of survey design. A total of 17,108 participants were included in this study. Dietary intake of PUFAs was significantly associated with a lower prevalence of hypertension for the highest versus lowest quartiles. The weighted ORs with 95% CIs of hypertension for total PUFA, omega-3 fatty acid, fish oil, ALA, omega-6 fatty acid, LA and AA were 0.47(0.40–0.55), 0.61(0.51–0.72), 0.85(0.74–0.97), 0.65(0.55–0.76), 0.49(0.42–0.58), 0.49(0.42–0.57) and 0.75(0.64–0.89), and the ARDs with 95% CIs were −18.06%(−22.54%, −13.58%), −12.06%(−16.68%, −7.44%), −4.13%(−8.25%, −0.01%), −10.54%(−15.31%, −5.78%), −17.03%(−21.49%, −12.58%), −17.23%(−21.76%, −12.69%) and −6.91%(−11.37%, −2.46%), respectively. Our study proposed that the intake of total PUFAs, omega-3 fatty acids, fish oil, ALA, omega-6 fatty acids, LA, and AA was associated with a lower prevalence of hypertension in the U.S. adults.

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Acknowledgements

The authors’ deepest gratitude goes to the anonymous editors and reviewers for their careful work and thoughtful comments that have helped improve this paper substantially. This study was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 81773554).

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Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally: Senmiao Ni, Zihang Zhong.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China

    Senmiao Ni, Zihang Zhong, Jiawei Zhou, Lixin Cai, Min Yang, Yang Zhao, Hao Yu & Jianling Bai

  2. The Second Clinical School of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China

    Junting Wei

  3. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health-Bloomington, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA

    Pengcheng Xun

  4. Department of Global Value Access and Outcomes, Atara Biotherapeutics, Thousand Oaks, CA, USA

    Pengcheng Xun

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Ni, S., Zhong, Z., Wei, J. et al. Association between dietary intake of polyunsaturated fatty acid and prevalence of hypertension in U.S. adults: A cross-sectional study using data from NHANES 2009–2016. Hypertens Res 45, 516–526 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41440-021-00849-1

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