Association of Animal and Plant Proteins Intake with Hypertension in Iranian Adult Population: Isfahan Healthy Heart Program

There is evidence regarding the relationship between dietary proteins intake and blood pressure (BP), but they had inconsistent results. Therefore, this study was designed to assess the association between different kinds of protein intake (animal and plant protein) and BP.

Data were collected from Isfahan Healthy Heart Program. We performed a cross‑sectional study among 9660 randomly selected Iranian adults aged ≥19‑year‑old that they were selected from three large Iranian regions in 2007. A simplified validated 48‑item‑food frequency questionnaire was used to assess dietary intake including all kinds of protein. Systolic and diastolic BPs were measured in duplicate by trained personnel using a standard protocol. Multivariable regressions were applied to assess the relationship between protein intake and BP levels and the presence of hypertension (HTN).

More frequent consumption of animal, plant, and total protein intake were inversely associated with BP in a crude model (P < 0.001); however, after adjustment for potential confounders this relationship remained only for plant protein (P = 0.04). The risk of HTN occurrence decreased in the highest quintile of total and plant protein consumption by 19% (odds ratio [OR] = 0.81; confidence interval [CI]: [0.65–0.96]; P for trend = 0.004) and 18% (OR = 0.82; [CI: (0.67–0.94]; P for trend = 0.03), respectively.

More frequent protein intake, especially plant protein consumption was inversely associated with BP and risk of HTN among Iranian adults.