Consumption of kimchi, a salt fermented vegetable, is not associated with hypertension prevalence

BackgroundThe aim of this study was to investigate the association between hypertension and kimchi, a salt-fermented vegetable, intake.MethodsThis study was based on the data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey conducted in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012. In the final analysis, a total of 20,114 Korean adults (men = 7,815, women = 12,299) was included. Daily energy, nutrient, and kimchi intake were assessed using 24-hour dietary recall. The odds ratios for hypertension, according to groups of quintiles of kimchi consumption by gender, were assessed using logistic regression and multivariable models.ResultsOut of 20,114 participants, 11.3% were newly diagnosed as having hypertension. Although participants with higher consumption of kimchi were more likely to have an older age, higher blood pressure, and a higher BMI, as well as higher consumption of calories and sodium, there was no significant difference in the distribution of prevalence of hypertension across quintiles of kimchi consumption in men and women. In multivariate models by gender, higher consumption of kimchi was not associated with a higher prevalence of hypertension (odds ratio = 0.87; 95% confidence interval = 0.70–1.08 for ≥216.5 g/day vs. <39.2 g/day; p for trend = 0.7532, in men; odds ratio = 1.04; 95% CI = 0.80–1.34 for ≥145.1 g/day vs. < 19.5 g/day; p for trend = 0.2875, in women).ConclusionHigh consumption of kimchi was not associated with an increased prevalence of hypertension in humans. Our results suggested that high potassium intake due to high consumption of kimchi may have helped neutralize the effect of elevated sodium intake on blood pressure levels.