This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Yogurt consumption lowered risk for hypertension
Increasing yogurt intake without increasing calorie dietary intake was found to be beneficial for BP control and hypertension prevention, according to results of a study presented at the American Heart Association’s High Blood Pressure Research 2012 Scientific Sessions in Washington, D.C.
Researchers analyzed dietary intake, BP measurements and antihypertensive medication use in 2,197 adults from the Framingham Heart Study Offspring Cohort (exams 5 to 8: 1998-2001 to 2005-2008). All participants were free of hypertension at baseline.
During 14 years of follow-up, participants reported yogurt consumption on questionnaires at three intervals. At baseline, 44% of participants reported consuming one or more servings of yogurt per month. Baseline systolic BP was 117 mm Hg and baseline diastolic BP was 72 mm Hg.
Both BP and yogurt intake increased during follow-up. During this time, 913 participants developed incident hypertension, according to the study abstract.
Those who consumed at least 2% of their daily calories from yogurt were 31% less likely to develop hypertension (OR=0.69; 95% CI, 0.54-0.87). Throughout the study, systolic BP increased less in those who consumed at least 2% of their daily calories as yogurt vs. those who did not include yogurt in their diets.
“Yogurt intake was not related to diastolic BP change over time,” the researchers said.
The trends persisted after the researchers controlled for BMI and change of BMI.
For more information:
Wang H. Abstract #188. Presented at: the High Blood Pressure Research Scientific Sessions 2012 Meeting Reports; Sept. 19-22, 2012; Washington, D.C.
Disclosure: The study was funded by the Framingham Heart Study of the NHLBI of the NIH and by a research grant from the Dannon Company Inc. Jacques and Wang received research grants from the Dannon Company. All other researchers reported no relevant financial disclosures.