Eating frequency is inversely associated with blood pressure and hypertension in Korean adults: analysis of the Third Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: A lower eating frequency (EF) has been suggested to be important in the development of cardiovascular risk factors such as obesity and hyperlipidemia. However, the association between EF and blood pressure (BP) remains unclear. SUBJECTS/METHODS: The aim of this study was to explore the association of EF with BP and hypertension after adjusting for confounding variables, including body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC). This cross-sectional study used data from the Third Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. A total of 4625 subjects aged >= 19 years were included. To explore the association of EF with BP and hypertension, we performed multiple linear regression analyses and multiple logistic regression analyses for survey design, respectively. RESULTS: EF was inversely associated with systolic BP (SBP) and diastolic BP (DBP). As EF increased from <= 2 to 3, 4 and >= 5 times per day, estimated adjusted means of both SBP and DBP decreased, showing a significant linear trend independent of obesity (SBP: 120.66, 120.23, 119.18 and 117.92 mm Hg, respectively; P<0.001; DBP: 78.36, 77.78, 77.25 and 76.50 mm Hg, respectively; P=0.004). The inverse association between EF and hypertension was gradually attenuated and significant after adjustment for confounding variables including BMI and WC (P=0.040). CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that lower EF is significantly associated with higher BP, which may be partially mediated by the effect of central obesity. Further prospective studies are needed to verify this causal relationship.