Dietary habits and inadequate control of blood pressure in hypertensive adults assisted by a Brazilian Family Doctor Program.

OBJECTIVE To estimate dietary habits and other factors associated with inadequate blood pressure (BP) control in hypertensive patients adherent to antihypertensive drug treatment assisted by a Brazilian Family Doctor Program (FDP). DESIGN A cross-sectional study. SETTING FDP units, Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. SUBJECTS We included data from both male and female participants aged ≥20 years. Participants completed a standardized questionnaire containing questions related to demographics, socio-economic factors, comorbidities and lifestyle, as well as a validated FFQ and eleven additional qualitative questions to investigate dietary habits. Food items were divided into sixteen groups. Medical consultations were performed, BP measurements were taken, blood and urine samples were assessed and anthropometric and nutritional status was evaluated. RESULTS Individuals with inadequate BP control presented higher BMI values (prevalence ratio (PR) = 1·027, 95% CI 1·009, 1·045) and also consumed more meat (PR = 1·091, 95% CI 1·022, 1·165), which are potentially modifiable variables. Higher levels of serum creatinine (PR = 1·894, 95% CI 1·241, 2·892) were also associated with inadequate BP control, as were skin colour (white). After inclusion of the Na excretion index, which is an indirect measure of salt intake, a slight decrease was observed in the PR for meat, which resulted in loss of statistical significance. CONCLUSIONS The results indicate that salt consumption, skin colour, BMI and serum creatinine are associated with inadequate BP control.