Gender differences in the relationship between risk of hypertension and fruit intake

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the relationship between hypertension and fruit intake in an Asian population.

Method: This study was based on the data from 2007, 2008 and 2009 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. In the final analysis, a total of 9791 subjects (men=3819, women=5972) were included. Daily energy and nutrient intakes were assessed using 24-h recall. The odds ratios (ORs) for hypertension were assessed by using logistic regression and multivariable models.

Results: A total of 10.6% of individuals were classified as having hypertension. Compared with the lowest quintile of fruit intake, the fifth quintile showed the lowest likelihood of hypertension (OR 0.73; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.61-0.88) after adjusting for age and gender. For women, the likelihood of hypertension in the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th quintiles of fruit intake decreased to 0.67 (95% CI, 0.34-1.30), 0.76 (0.56-1.05), 0.90 (0.67-1.22) and 0.54 (0.38-0.77), respectively, after adjusting for confounding factors (P value for trend=0.0011). An inverse association of fruit intake and hypertension was shown only in non-obese women. For men and obese women, there was no relationship between fruit intake and hypertension.

Conclusion: Dietary fruit recommendation for hypertension should be taken into account together with ethnic background, gender as well as the presence of obesity in individuals.

Keywords: Fruit; Gender differences; Hypertension; Obesity.