Birth weight modifies the association between a healthy Nordic diet and office blood pressure in old age

• Published in: Journal of human hypertension Vol. 35; no. 10; pp. 849 - 858
• Main Authors: Meinilä, Jelena, Perälä, Mia-Maria, Kanerva, Noora, Männistö, Satu, Wasenius, Niko, Kajantie, Eero, Salonen, Minna
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group 01.10.2021
• Subjects: Birth size; Birth weight; Blood pressure; Body size; Diet; Health aspects; Hypertension; Low-birth-weight; Methods; Prevention; Risk factors; Finland
• ISSN: 0950-9240; 1476-5527
• DOI: 10.1038/s41371-020-00423-1

A healthy diet reduces risk for high blood pressure. A small body size at birth increases risk for high blood pressure. Our aim was to study whether birth weight modifies the association between a healthy Nordic diet, characterized by high intake of Nordic vegetables, fruits, and berries, whole-grain rye, oat, and barley, and rapeseed oil, and blood pressure. Finnish men and women (n = 960) born in 1934-1944 attended clinical visits including clinical measurements, and questionnaires in 2001-2004 and 2011-2013. Linear regression was applied to investigate the interactions between birth weight and Nordic diet (measured by the Baltic sea diet score (BSDS)) on blood pressure change during the 10-year follow-up. Baseline Nordic diet and birth weight showed a significant interaction on systolic blood pressure (SBP) (p = 0.02), and pulse pressure (PP) (p < 0.01) over a 10-year follow-up. In the lowest birth weight category (women < 2951 g, men < 3061 g), predicted SBP decreased across BSDS thirds (lowest (T1): 155 mmHg, highest (T3): 145 mmHg, p for linearity = 0.01) as did predicted PP (T1: 71 mmHg, T3: 63 mmHg, p < 0.01). In the middle birth weight category, predicted SBP increased across BSDS thirds (T1: 151 mmHg, T3: 155 mmHg, p = 0.02) as did predicted PP (T1: 67 mmHg, T3: 71 mmHg, p < 0.01). In the highest birth weight category, no associations were found. Higher adherence to a healthy Nordic diet was associated with lower SBP and PP in individuals with low birth weight but with higher SBP and PP in those with average birth weight.