Relationship between dietary approaches to stop hypertension score and presence or absence of coronary heart diseases in patients referring to Imam Hossein Hospital, Tehran, Iran.

Background: The dietary approaches to stop hypertension (DASH) dietary pattern reduces blood pressure. However, there is little information about the relationship between DASH and coronary heart diseases. This study aimed to assess the relationship between a DASH-style diet adherence score and coronary heart diseases (CHD) in patients referring for coronary angiography.

Methods: In this study, 201 adults (102 males, 99 females) within the age range of 40-80 years who referred for coronary angiography were selected. Diet was evaluated using a validated food frequency questionnaire. DASH score was calculated based on 8 food components (fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and legumes, low fat dairy, red/processed meats, soft drinks/sweets, and sodium). The relationship between DASH score and CHD was assessed using logistic regression analysis.

Results: Mean of DASH score was 23.99 ± 4.41. Individuals in the highest quartile of DASH score were less likely to have CHD [odds ratio (OR) = 0.38, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.16-0.86]. However, after adjustment for gender or smoking, there was little evidence that coronary heart disease was associated with DASH diet score. There was a significant negative correlation between DASH score and diastolic blood pressure (P ≤ 0.05).

Conclusion: In conclusion, having a diet similar to DASH plan was not independently related to CHD in this study. This might indicate that having a healthy dietary pattern, such as DASH pattern, is highly related to gender (dietary pattern is healthier in women than men) or smoking habit (non-smokers have healthier dietary pattern compared to smokers).