Sugar-Sweetened Beverages Consumption in Relation to Hypertension Among Iranian University Students: The Mephasous Study Publisher Pubmed



Mansouri M¹ ; Sharifi F² ; Yaghubi H³ ; Varmaghani M⁴ ; Tabrizi YM⁵ ; Nasiri M⁶ ; Sadeghi O^{7, 8, 9}
Source: Eating and Weight Disorders Published:2020

Abstract

Purpose: This study aimed to assess the link between sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) consumption and hypertension among a large population in the Middle East. Methods: In this cross-sectional study (a part of Mental and Physical Health Assessment of University Student: MEPHASOUS study), 66,634 university students from all provinces of Iran, aged ≥ 18 years, were included. A self-administered dietary habits questionnaire was used to assess SSBs consumption as well as other dietary intakes. Participants were categorized based on three levels of SSB consumption: < 1 time/wk, 1–3 times/wk, and ≤ 3 times/wk. Hypertension was defined as systolic blood pressure (SBP) of ≥ 140 and diastolic blood pressure of ≥ 90. Results: Compared with those in the bottom category, students in the top category of SSBs consumption were more likely to have hypertension (OR 1.71, 95% CI 1.54–1.90). This association remained significant even after adjusting for confounding variables; such that participants in the highest category of SSBs consumption had 2.17 times greater odds of hypertension compared with those in the lowest category (OR 2.17, 95% CI 1.91–2.47). Stratified analysis based on gender and BMI status revealed such significant association in men (OR 2.12, 95% CI 1.79–2.50) and women (OR 2.03, 95% CI 1.67–2.48), and in all categories of BMI including students with underweight (OR 2.53, 95% CI 1.81–3.52), normal-weight (OR 2.13, 95% CI 1.81–2.51), overweight (OR 2.14, 95% CI 1.58–2.89) and obesity (OR 1.59, 95% CI 1.00–2.53). Conclusion: Our results support previous findings indicating a significant positive association between SSBs consumption and hypertension. Level of Evidence: Level III, cross-sectional analytic studies. © 2019, Springer Nature Switzerland AG.