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(Reuters Health) – High blood pressure is widespread among African-American men, at least in part, because they are more likely than other people to consume a traditional South diet, with a large amount of food fried and fat, suggests an American study.
The researchers followed 6,897 people in the south of the country who did not have high blood pressure in 2003-2007, including 1,807 African-American men and women. After about 9 years, 46% of black participants and 33% of whites developed high blood pressure.
In all men, a traditional southern diet was associated with a 16% higher risk of hypertension and, in women, an increased risk of 17%. As a group, African-American men followed a more traditional South diet than other men or women participating in the study, accounting for more than half of their increased risk of high blood pressure. or hypertension, have discovered researchers.
"It is interesting to note that the diet contributes more to the racial disparities of hypertension than the overweight diet," said George Howard, lead author of the study, the Ryals School of Public Health's University of Alabama at Birmingham.
"This suggests that we could consider interventions to increase healthy foods in the diet while minimizing fried foods and processed meats," Howard said via email.
Although the current study was not designed to prove whether certain eating habits could have a direct impact on the development of high blood pressure, previous research has linked the so-called DASH diet recommended by the American Heart Association and a lower risk of hypertension. Howard said to me.
Among people who follow the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet with an increase in lean protein, fruits, vegetables and whole grains, the difference in blood pressure levels between Caucasians and African-Americans is not so important.
"This diet has been shown time and time again to protect the heart," Howard added.
In contrast, a traditional southern diet is full of foods that the DASH diet recommends to people to avoid: fried foods, organ meats, processed meats, eggs, added fats, high fat dairy products, bread, sodas and other sugary drinks.
For African-American women participating in the study, the Southern diet accounts for 29% of their excess risk of hypertension.
Even though a southern diet rich in fried foods and saturated fats can actually contribute to high blood pressure, it's not the only factor that matters, said Dr. Clyde Yancy, Chief of Cardiology at Feinberg School. of Medicine at Northwestern University in Chicago. Obesity, income and education can also affect blood pressure, and sodium intake, especially for women, said Yancy by email, who was not associated with the study.
"As we continue to look for the best way to measure the impact of the social determinants of health, we learn how difficult it is to disaggregate singular variables and affect causality," said Yancy. "In the end, it might be best to stay global in our field of action – focusing on essential needs such as education, housing, employment and social security. 39 access to healthy foods – as we tackle the unique burden of disease in at-risk communities.
The study found that eating a lot of sodium and having no education beyond high school each accounted for about 12% of the risk of excessive hypertension among African-American men.
Obesity among African-American women accounted for 18% of their additional risk of high blood pressure, and the large waist circumference accounted for 15% of this additional risk.
The American Heart Association defines hypertension or high blood pressure as a systolic reading of 130 mmHg or greater and diastolic readings of 80 mmHg or more. The systolic pressure reflects the blood pressure exerted on the walls of the arteries when the heart beats. The diastolic pressure indicates the pressure when the heart rests between the beats.
Excessive amounts of fat and sodium in traditional southern diets can lead to high blood pressure, said Daniel Lackland, a researcher at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, who was not involved in the study.
"A high-fat diet is associated with stiffer arteries associated with high blood pressure," Lackland said via e-mail. "A high-salt diet is associated with fluid retention and high blood pressure."
SOURCE: bit.ly/2O0OPsW JAMA, online October 2, 2018.
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