Increased adherence to the DASH dietary pattern in community dwelling older adults: Findings from two National Health and Nutrition Surveys.

Objectives: To assess adherence to the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet over a decade among community-dwelling older adults, with and without hypertension and to examine associated factors.

Study Design: Cross-sectional study.

Methods: Data from two cross-sectional Israel National Health and Nutrition Surveys (NHNS) for older adults, from 2005 to 2006 (NHNS1) and 2014-2015 (NHNS2) were analysed. Trained personnel conducted face-to-face interviews and collected demographic, health, and lifestyle data, along with anthropometric measurements. Adherence to the DASH diet was determined from a single 24-h dietary recall using Mellen's DASH score. Logistic regression analyses were applied to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95 % confidence intervals (CIs) for high DASH adherence (scores ≥4.5) versus low adherence (scores <4.5). Individual nutrient targets of the DASH diet were also assessed.

Results: The dataset was comprised of 1722 participants from NHNS1 and 916 from NHNS2. Following adjustment for potential confounders, the OR for DASH adherence among participants in NHNS2 was 1.65 (95 % CI 1.34-2.04) compared to NHNS1. NHNS2 participants reported better adherence to DASH nutrient recommendations for saturated fatty acids, total fat, protein, dietary fibre, and calcium among individuals with and without hypertension. No statistically significant differences were found for cholesterol, potassium, and sodium target intakes between surveys.

Conclusions: A positive trend towards healthier dietary patterns was identified among both the hypertensive and non-hypertensive older adults over a 10-year period. This underscores the importance of ongoing monitoring to appropriately address changing population needs and promote healthy dietary practices.