Distinct local dietary patterns displayed consistent cross-sectional associations with hypertension prevalence in this population, while physical activity showed no independent correlation with hypertension after accounting for habitual diet.
Key Findings
Results
The overall prevalence of hypertension among adults in southwestern Nigeria was 24.34%, with significantly higher prevalence among males than females.
Total sample size was 608 eligible adults residing in Oyo and Kwara States, southwestern Nigeria.
Overall hypertension prevalence was 24.34%.
Male hypertension prevalence was 29.78% compared to 16.67% among females.
Hypertension was defined using standardized single-visit blood pressure measurements per WHO criteria.
A culturally validated 7-day Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) and Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPAQ) were used to collect dietary and activity data.
Methods
Four distinct dietary patterns were identified among study participants via Principal Component Analysis (PCA) with Varimax rotation.
The four patterns identified were: diversified traditional pattern, typical traditional pattern, fruits and vegetables pattern, and fats and soft drinks pattern.
PCA with Varimax rotation was used to derive dietary patterns from a culturally validated 7-day FFQ.
These patterns reflect the local food environment of southwestern Nigeria.
Pattern derivation was applied to the full sample of 608 adults.
Results
Highest adherence to the typical traditional dietary pattern was significantly associated with higher hypertension prevalence after full covariate adjustment.
Prevalence ratio (PR) = 1.642, 95% CI: 1.069–2.252, p = 0.024.
Association was detected after full covariate adjustment using robust cluster-adjusted Poisson regression.
All confidence intervals and p-values were two-sided with a significance threshold of p < 0.05.
The typical traditional pattern is one of four PCA-derived dietary patterns identified in the study.
Results
Maximum adherence to the fruit and vegetable dietary pattern was significantly associated with lower hypertension prevalence after full covariate adjustment.
Prevalence ratio (PR) = 0.408, 95% CI: 0.258–0.646, p < 0.001.
This was the strongest statistically significant inverse association detected in the study.
Association remained significant after adjustment for all covariates using robust cluster-adjusted Poisson regression.
The fruit and vegetable pattern was one of four PCA-derived dietary patterns.
Results
No significant cross-sectional associations with hypertension prevalence were detected for the diversified traditional pattern or the fats and soft drinks pattern.
Neither the diversified traditional pattern nor the fats and soft drinks pattern showed statistically significant associations with hypertension after full covariate adjustment.
Robust cluster-adjusted Poisson regression was used to estimate prevalence ratios and 95% CIs.
Results were evaluated at a two-sided significance threshold of p < 0.05.
Results
Physical activity showed a crude positive association with hypertension prevalence that became non-significant after adjusting for all dietary patterns.
The crude (unadjusted) association between physical activity and hypertension was positive and statistically significant.
After full adjustment for all four dietary patterns and other covariates, the physical activity–hypertension association was no longer statistically significant.
Physical activity was assessed using the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPAQ).
This finding suggests that dietary patterns may account for or confound the apparent relationship between physical activity and hypertension in this population.
Methods
Robust cluster-adjusted Poisson regression was selected as the primary analytic method to estimate prevalence ratios and 95% confidence intervals.
All reported prevalence ratios (PRs) and 95% confidence intervals were two-sided with p < 0.05 as the significance threshold.
The study design was cross-sectional, limiting causal inference.
Cluster adjustment was incorporated to account for within-cluster correlation in the data.
Poisson regression was used rather than logistic regression, as it more directly estimates prevalence ratios in cross-sectional studies with common outcomes.
What This Means
This research suggests that what Nigerian adults eat is closely linked to their chances of having high blood pressure (hypertension). Researchers surveyed 608 adults in southwestern Nigeria about their diets and physical activity, and measured their blood pressure. About 1 in 4 adults had hypertension, and men were nearly twice as likely as women to have it. By analyzing eating habits, the researchers identified four distinct dietary patterns common in the region.
Two of these dietary patterns stood out as being significantly linked to hypertension. Adults who most closely followed a 'typical traditional' diet — likely characterized by local staple foods common to the region — had about 64% higher prevalence of hypertension compared to those with the lowest adherence to that pattern. On the other hand, adults who ate the most fruits and vegetables had about 59% lower prevalence of hypertension. Interestingly, physical activity appeared related to hypertension when looked at alone, but this relationship disappeared once diet was taken into account, suggesting diet may be the more dominant factor in this context.
This research suggests that culturally specific dietary habits play an important role in hypertension risk among Nigerian adults, and that promoting fruit and vegetable consumption while examining the components of traditional dietary patterns could be relevant to public health efforts in this region. Because the study was cross-sectional — meaning it captured a single point in time — it cannot prove that diet causes hypertension, only that the two are associated. Future longitudinal studies would be needed to confirm these relationships.
Faidat A, Yijiati A, Yu X, Jiang Y, Segun A, He Z. (2026). Cross-Sectional Associations of Dietary Pattern, Physical Activity with Hypertension Among Adults in Southwestern Nigeria.. Nutrients. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu18172825