Hypertension news: Phosphorus may help cut high blood pressure risk

There was no significant change in the prevalence of high blood pressure or hypertension among adults from 1999-2000 to 2007-2008, according to a report released in Oct. by Sung Sug (Sarah) Yoon and colleagues at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention???s National Center for Health Statistics, Division of Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys.

The report says however that more people or 88.6 percent of adults in 2007 – 2008 became awareness of their high blood pressure status, compared to 69.6 percent in 1999-2000.  And more people were taking anti-hypertension medications.

High blood pressure is related to lifestyle factors including a person’s dietary habit.

A new study published online Jan 18, 2010 in the journal Hypertension suggests that eating phosphorus-rich foods may help prevent high blood pressure or hypertension.

The study led by Alvaro Alonso and colleagues from School of public Health University of Minnesota showed that those in the highest quintle of phosphorus intake had lower baseline systolic blood pressure than those who were in the lowest quintile.

Intake of phosphorus was not significantly associated with a lower diastolic blood pressure.
Early studies have suggested that phosphorus intake may lower blood pressure, but prospective studies are rare.

The researchers analysed dietary data collected at baseline from 444 participants who were enrolled in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Cohort and the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis. At baseline and during the follow-up, the researchers measured blood pressure and use of anti-hypertensive drugs.

During an average of 6.2 years of follow-up, 3,345 cases of hypertension were recorded. The highest quintile of phosphorus intake was associated with a 20 percent reduced risk of hypertension compared to the lowest intake after adjustment for non-dietary factors. The association became non-existent after additional adjustment for dietary factors.

Phosphorus from dairy products, but not other sources was correlated with lower baseline blood pressure and reduced risk of hypertension. Those who used highest amounts of dairy foods were 14 percent less likely to have hypertension compared to those using the lowest amounts of dairy foods.

Another Australian study found there was no consistent and significant association between total dairy intake and total or cause-specific death risk.

However, those with highest intake of full fat dairy foods were 69 percent less likely to die from cardiovascular disease compared with those having lowest intake after adjustment for calcium intake and other confounders.

But intakes of low-fat dairy, specific dairy foods, calcium and vitamin D did not show any consistent associations.

The study involved 1529 Australians aged 25 to 78 years at baseline. During the 14.4-year follow-up, 177 people died with 61 from CVD and 58 from cancer.

Foods high in phosphorus include skim milk, nonfat yogurt, cheese, egg, beef, chicken, turkey, halibut fish, salmon fish, whole wheat bread, enriched white breast, almonds, peanuts, and lentils.

Jimmy Downs