Impact of different dietary fat sources on blood pressure in Chinese adults

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the association between the source of dietary fat and blood pressure for Chinese people aged between 30–59 with the aim of elucidating methods of hypertension prevention. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study using national survey data. PARTICIPANTS: 1,104 adults aged between 30–59 with normal blood pressures in 2006 were included in the study. Adults with history of prehypertension, hypertension, or were taking hypertension drugs in 2006 were excluded. Participants with implausibly high or low daily total energy intakes (<600 kcal/d or >5000 kcal/d) were excluded. Pregnant women, breastfeeding women, and people with motor impairment were excluded. RESULTS: People with abnormal blood pressure ingested a lower percent of dietary fat taken from seafood (P < 0.001) and a higher percent of dietary fat taken from fast food (P < 0.001). Dietary fat obtained from seafood and dairy products can be protective against abnormal blood pressure with a RR = 0.01 (95% CI: 0.001 to 0.25; P = 0.004) for seafood, and RR = 0.14 (95% CI: 0.04 to 0.44; P = 0.001) for egg, milk, and dairy products. CONCLUSION: Seafood, egg, milk, and dairy products can be recommended as sources of dietary fat to reduce the incidence of hypertension and prehypertension while fast food should be avoided.