Abstract
BACKGROUND: The existing research on the relationship between dietary protein intake and hypertension has mainly centered on the general population, with limited information available for adults with type 2 diabetes (T2DM). Therefore, this study was conducted to explore the association of total, plant, and animal protein intake with hypertension in adults with T2DM. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, 1947 individuals with T2DM from Azar cohort study were included. Dietary data were collected through a validated semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Hypertension was defined as blood pressure≥140/90 mm Hg, a self-reported diagnosis of hypertension confirmed by medical records, or the use of anti-hypertensive medications. RESULTS: The mean age of the participants was 54.90 (SD: 8.25) years, with a majority (61%) being female. Initially, a significant positive relationship was observed between total protein intake and the odds of hypertension in the crude model (odds ratio [OR]: 1.38, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.04-1.83, P-trend: 0.055). However, after considering potential confounding factors, this association became non-significant (OR: 1.48, 95% CI: 0.94-2.33, P-trend: 0.224). Plant and animal protein intake did not show a significant association with hypertension, neither in the crude model nor in the fully-adjusted model. However, when participants were stratified by gender, a significant association was observed between total protein intake and hypertension only in men (OR: 2.52, 95% CI: 1.13-5.62, P-trend: 0.055). CONCLUSION: We found no evidence of an association between protein intake and hypertension among individuals with T2DM. However, in stratified analysis, there was a significant positive association between total protein intake and hypertension only in men. Future research should investigate potential, particularly sex-specific, mechanisms that may link dietary protein intake to hypertension in diverse populations.