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

• Main Authors: Mansouri M, Pahlavani N, Sharifi F, Varmaghani M, Shokri A, Yaghubi H, Asbaghi O, Keshtkar A, Tabrizi YM, Sadeghi O
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dove Medical Press 2020-05-01
• Series: Diabetes, Metabolic Syndrome and Obesity : Targets and Therapy
• Subjects: diet; hypertension; blood pressure; students; dairy
• Online Access: https://www.dovepress.com/dairy-consumption-in-relation-to-hypertension-among-a-large-population-peer-reviewed-article-DMSO

Masoume Mansouri,1 Naseh Pahlavani,2 Farshad Sharifi,3 Mehdi Varmaghani,4 Azad Shokri,5 Hamid Yaghubi,6 Omid Asbaghi,7 Abasali Keshtkar,8 Yousef Moghadas Tabrizi,9 Omid Sadeghi10,11 1Student Health Services, Students’ Health and Consultation Center, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran; 2Student Research Committee, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran; 3Elderly Health Research Center, Endocrinology and Metabolism Research Institute, Tehran University, Tehran, Iran; 4Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran; 5Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Research Institute for Health Development, Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences, Sanandaj, Iran; 6Department of Psychology, Shahed University, Tehran, Iran; 7Student Research Committee, Lorestan University of Medical Sciences, Khorramabad, Iran; 8Department of Health Sciences Education Development, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; 9Department of Health and Sport Medicine, Faculty of Physical Education and Sport Science, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran; 10Students’ Scientific Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; 11Department of Community Nutrition, School of Nutritional Sciences and Dietetics, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, IranCorrespondence: Omid SadeghiDepartment of Community Nutrition, School of Nutritional Sciences and Dietetics, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, P.o. Box 14155-6117, Tehran, IranTel [phone]Fax [phone]Email [e-mail]: 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.Keywords: diet, hypertension, blood pressure, students, dairy