Role of vegetables and fruits in Mediterranean diets to prevent hypertension

Background/Objectives: Several studies support the effectiveness of increasing the consumption of fruits and vegetables (F&V) to prevent hypertension. However, none of them have been conducted in a Mediterranean setting. The aim of this study was to assess the association between F&V consumption and the risk of hypertension. Subjects/Methods: A prospective Mediterranean study (the SUN cohort), including 8594 participants aged 20-95 years (mean, 41.1) with median follow-up of 49 months. Results: Analyses according to the joint classification by olive oil and F&V consumption showed a significant inverse relation between F&V consumption and the risk of hypertension only among participants with a low olive oil consumption ( Conclusions: We found a statistically significant interaction (P = 0.01) between olive oil intake and F&V consumption. These data suggest a sub-additive effect of both food items. doi:10.1038/ejcn.2008.22; published online 27 February 2008 Keywords: fruit; vegetable; hypertension; olive oil; Mediterranean diet; prospective studies
Introduction High blood pressure (HBP) has a high prevalence in many populations and it is associated to an excess risk of myocardial infarction, heart failure, stroke and kidney disease (Chobanian [...]