Dairy Consumption in Relation to Hypertension Among a Large Population of University Students: The MEPHASOUS Study

BACKGROUND: Hypertension is a chronic condition that its prevalence is increasing at an alarming rate. Findings on the association between dairy consumption and hypertension are conflicting and few data are available in the Middle East. AIM: To assess the association between dairy consumption and hypertension among a large population of university students. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The current study was performed in the framework of the Mental and Physical Health Assessment of University Student (MEPHASOUS) project. Overall, 67,011 university students with complete information were included in the statistical analysis. To assess dairy consumption, a self-administered dietary habits questionnaire was employed. Blood pressure was measured using a standard protocol. The systolic/diastolic blood pressure of ≥140/90 mmHg was considered hypertension. RESULTS: Hypertension was prevalent among 6.9% of students. A significant inverse association was found between dairy consumption and the odds of hypertension; such that after taking potential confounders into account, individuals in the highest levels of dairy consumption had 85% lower odds for having hypertension compared with those in the lowest levels (odds ratio (OR): 0.15, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.13–0.18). Such an inverse association was also seen among males (OR: 0.14, 95% CI: 0.11–0.18) and females (OR: 0.16, 95% CI: 0.12–0.21), normal-weight students (OR: 0.15, 95% CI: 0.12–0.18) and those with overweight or obesity (OR: 0.15, 95% CI: 0.11–0.21), and individuals with (OR: 0.13, 95% CI: 0.11–0.16) and without (OR: 0.24, 95% CI: 0.17–0.35) family history of hypertension. CONCLUSION: Our results support the previous findings on the inverse association between dairy consumption and hypertension among university students.