Food Behaviors and Its Association with Hypertension and Cardiovascular Diseases in Sowme’eh Sara (North of Iran): The PERSIAN Guilan Cohort Study (PGCS)

Food behavior and dietary pattern are major parameters affecting the health status of people. The objective of this study was investigation of food behaviors in people inhabited in North of Iran to find out association of the effective indices (related to salt and fried foods) with hypertension and other cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). This large cross-sectional study was conducted on 10,520 participants and their sociodemographic, medical, and food behavior information were evaluated. Association of salt intake with CVDs and stroke was studied by portfolio at risk (PAR) formula. Association of food behavior with hypertension and CVDs was surveyed by chi-square test. Differences were significant at P≤0.05. Analysis of medical information revealed that 43.18% and 8.18% of the participants had hypertension and CVDs, respectively; mostly in women. Significant association was observed between salt-related behaviors and hypertension in the participants. Regarding salt intake, higher PARs were calculated in women than men (2.26 vs. 1.88 for PARCVDs and 3.66 vs. 3.05 for PARstroke), and urban than rural inhabitants (4.56 vs. 3.66 for PARCVDs and 7.27 vs. 5.88 for PARstroke). No significant contribution was observed between oil-related behaviors and CVDs. The majority of participants were well-informed about appropriate preparation and consumption of fried foods but not a healthy behavior about salt intake. Considering the significant association of salt-related behaviors with hypertension, conducting educational programs by healthcare practitioners in the population is suggested.