Adherence
Long-term adherence to DASH diet guidelines does not independently reduce the incidence of hypertension or cardiovascular mortality in older women after adjusting for confounding lifestyle factors.
While the DASH diet is recommended for blood pressure control, this study suggests that simply 'eating somewhat healthy' according to DASH guidelines may not be enough to prevent hypertension or heart disease in older women over the long term, especially if other risk factors (like smoking or lack of exercise) are present. To potentially see the benefits seen in clinical trials, one might need to achieve a very high level of strict adherence to the diet, which is difficult in real-world settings.
Our results suggest that greater concordance with DASH guidelines did not have an independent long-term association with hypertension or cardiovascular mortality in this cohort.
Why this rating
Large observational cohort (n=20,993) with long follow-up, but relies on self-reported diet and hypertension, introducing potential measurement error and residual confounding.
Source
Degree of Concordance With DASH Diet Guidelines and Incidence of Hypertension and Fatal Cardiovascular Disease
A. R. Folsom et al. · American Journal of Hypertension · 2007
DOI 10.1016/j.amjhyper.2006.09.003
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