Unhui Jo1, Kyong Park2. 1. Department of Food and Nutrition, Yeungnam University, 280 Daehak-ro, Gyeongsan, Gueongbuk, 38541, Republic of Korea. 2. Department of Food and Nutrition, Yeungnam University, 280 Daehak-ro, Gyeongsan, Gueongbuk, 38541, Republic of Korea. kypark@ynu.ac.kr.
Abstract
BACKGROUND/ OBJECTIVES: Although previous in vivo and in vitro studies have reported the beneficial effects of phytochemical-rich food on cardiovascular health, limited information is available regarding its' health effect on the community-dwelling population. This is especially true in Korea. Here, we examined the cross-sectional association between phytochemical levels and hypertension in Korean adults. SUBJECTS/ METHODS: We analyzed data from 38,198 Koreans aged ≥30 years who participated in the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2008-2019) and met the study's inclusion criteria. The Korean version of the Phytochemical Index (PI) was computed based on 24 h recall data. Hypertension was defined based on the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association definition in 2017. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to examine the association between PI and hypertension. RESULTS: In the multivariable adjusted model, participants in the highest PI quintile had a significantly low prevalence of hypertension (Odd ratio, 0.86; 95% confidence interval, 0.79-0.95). A dose-response analysis confirmed the inverse linearity between PI and hypertension (p for nonlinearity = 0.2634). CONCLUSIONS: Consumption of phytochemical-rich foods may lower the prevalence of hypertension. A large-scale, prospective cohort study is required to validate these findings.
BACKGROUND/ OBJECTIVES: Although previous in vivo and in vitro studies have reported the beneficial effects of phytochemical-rich food on cardiovascular health, limited information is available regarding its' health effect on the community-dwelling population. This is especially true in Korea. Here, we examined the cross-sectional association between phytochemical levels and hypertension in Korean adults. SUBJECTS/ METHODS: We analyzed data from 38,198 Koreans aged ≥30 years who participated in the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2008-2019) and met the study's inclusion criteria. The Korean version of the Phytochemical Index (PI) was computed based on 24 h recall data. Hypertension was defined based on the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association definition in 2017. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to examine the association between PI and hypertension. RESULTS: In the multivariable adjusted model, participants in the highest PI quintile had a significantly low prevalence of hypertension (Odd ratio, 0.86; 95% confidence interval, 0.79-0.95). A dose-response analysis confirmed the inverse linearity between PI and hypertension (p for nonlinearity = 0.2634). CONCLUSIONS: Consumption of phytochemical-rich foods may lower the prevalence of hypertension. A large-scale, prospective cohort study is required to validate these findings.