BACKGROUND:Dietary diversity score (DDS) is recognized as an essential factor of a high-quality diet.

OBJECTIVE:To evaluate the relationship between DDS and cardiometabolic risk factors in hypertensive patients.

METHODS:In this cross-sectional study, 972 hypertensive patients (322 males and 650 females) aged 35–70y participated were recruited. Dietary intake was evaluated using a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire and DDS was calculated. Metabolic syndrome was defined according to the IDF/AHA criteria. The anthropometric parameters, fasting blood sugar, lipid profile, and liver enzymes were measured.

RESULTS:Male subjects who assigned to the top DDS tertile had 51% lower risk of having low serum HDL-C (OR: 0.49; 95% CI: 0.24–0.96) in the crude model. A similar association was observed for men in the second tertile of DDS after adjusting for covariates (OR: 0.47; 95% CI: 0.23–0.97). A significant inverse association was found between vegetable diversity score and odds of hyperglycemia in the male group in the adjusted model (OR: 0.44; 95% CI: 0.22–0.91). The vegetable diversity score was inversely associated with 67% decreased metabolic syndrome risk in the adjusted model (OR: 0.33; 95% CI: 0.15–0.70). CONCLUSION:These findings clarify the possible preventive role of higher DDS against metabolic syndrome.

Keywords: Cardiometabolic risk factors, dietary diversity score, hypertension, metabolic syndrome