Sodium, iron, zinc, fiber, polyunsaturated fatty acids, cholesterol intake and blood pressure in elderly with coronary artery disease

Inadequate intake of sodium, iron, zinc, fiber, polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA), and cholesterol are associated with increased risk of hypertension. This study aimed to investigate the daily intake adequacy of those nutrients related to hypertension in older adults with coronary artery disease history. Fifty respondents (51-75 years old) involved in the study had cardiovascular disease history while they checked with the cardiologist monthly and had an optimum medical treatment history. Dietary intake was assessed using repeated 24-hours recall questionnaire. Blood pressure was measured three times using calibrated digital sphygmomanometer. Spearman's rank was used to analyze relationship between PUFA, cholesterol, iron and blood pressure while Pearson chi-squared test was used to analyze the relationship between sodium, zinc, fiber intakes and blood pressure. Most respondents had appropriate controlled blood pressure, i.e., below 130/90 mmHg. Around 89.1% of respondents had optimal cholesterol intake with an average intake about 124.61 mg. However, respondents experienced deficiencies in the average intake of zinc (4.23 +/- 1.71 mg), sodium (859.9 +/- 654.1 mg), iron (7.4 +/- 4.6 mg), PUFA (8.6 +/- 6.6 g), and fiber (11.2 +/- 5.7 g). Blood pressure was not associated with intakes of iron (p= 0.531), cholesterol (p= 0.755), fiber (p= 0.221), PUFA (p=0.295), zinc (p=0.761), sodium (p= 0.066). In summary, there was no relationship statistically between daily micronutrient intake and blood pressure in older adults with controlled blood pressure even though they had cardiovascular disease history.