Fruit and vegetable intake and the risk of arterial hypertension in China: A prospective cohort study

Abstract Background Population‐based epidemiological evidence regarding the association between fruit and vegetable intake and the incidence of hypertension is inconsistent. This prospective cohort study aimed to investigate the association between fruit and vegetable intake and the risk of new‐onset hypertension. Methods Based on the project of Prediction for Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease Risk in China (China‐PAR), 58,981 Chinese adults without hypertension at baseline were included. Information on fruit and vegetable intake was collected using a food‐frequency questionnaire. Cox proportional hazards models were performed to estimate the hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of incident hypertension. Results During 640,795 person‐years of follow‐up, 21,008 new cases of hypertension were recorded. Compared with participants in the lowest quintile (Q1) of total fruit and vegetable (TFV) intake, the HRs (95% CIs) of incident hypertension were 0.90 (0.86–0.95), 0.85 (0.81–0.90), 0.82 (0.78–0.86), and 0.83 (0.78–0.88) for the Q2 to Q5 group (ptrend