Effects of the Variance in Prevalence of the DASH Diet in Nursing Homes on Seniors With Elevated Blood Pressure or Hypertension

1. ABSTRACT The DASH diet is a dietary pattern designed to help treat or prevent hypertension. The diet includes foods rich in potassium, calcium, and magnesium while limiting foods high in sodium, saturated fat, and added sugars. The DASH diet’s relationship with hypertension in adults is well defined, but the effect of its variance in prevalence in nursing homes on seniors is not. We performed a mixed-methods observational study incorporating a survey collecting anonymized nursing home data regarding the number of servings of various food groups provided to senior residents per day. The data were analyzed using the Fung et al. DASH diet scoring method. We then conducted an interview with nursing home dieticians to investigate the public health effect of the DASH diet on hypertension in residents. Lastly, a content analysis was performed of nursing home menus to support the data from the surveys. In a pool of 11 nursing homes, 100% of the facilities incorporated some aspect of the DASH diet, and in a pool of five nursing homes, 60% achieved high adherence to the DASH diet. We additionally confirmed a previously observed negative relationship between red meat consumption in seniors to higher risk and poorer prognosis of hypertension. These analyses bolster the DASH diet’s potential role as a hypertension prevention mechanism in nursing homes, suggesting that future DASH diet interventions may hold promise.