Government has popularized potatoes as a major staple food in China. Potato, a potassium-rich food with high glycemic responses after consumption, exhibits unclear effects on hypertension. In this study, the investigators aimed to examine the association between potato consumption and hypertension risk among Chinese people.

Potato is considered as a superior crop due to its significant nutritive value and great production yield. China is the largest potato producer with a quarter of world production, followed by India, Russia, and USA. The potato production as well as consumption has enhanced in developing countries while continuously declined in developed countries during the last decade. The investigators therefore explored the prospective associations of consumption of total potatoes, sweet potatoes, stir-fried potatoes, and non stir-fried potatoes with the risk of hypertension in general people of the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS) cohort study from 1989 to 2011. A total of 11,763 participants (≥20 years old) who were free of hypertension at baseline were enrolled from CHNS Cohort study. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to estimate the associations after adjusting for potential confounders. This study provides new evidence on the association of various potato consumption with the incidence of hypertension in China. As urbanization accelerates across the whole domain of China, the tendency of transition to Western-style diets and lifestyles appears continuously and steeply growing. More and more potatoes will be consumed as processed potato products including potatoes chips and French fries, which may be a potential risk factor of hypertension occurrence.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Adults aged 20-93 with complete data on diet and follow-up time
• Adults with no chronic disease history

Exclusion Criteria:

• Adults aged < 20 years
• Identified to be pregnant
• Previously diagnosed with hypertension, cancers, infarction, apoplexy, and diabetes

Of the 11,763 participants, 5,344 male and 6,419 female were enrolled, ranging from 20 to 93 years old. People who consumed the potatoes, sweet potatoes, stir-fried potatoes, and non stir-fried potatoes accounted for 57.3%, 15.0%, 51.8%, and 28.1%, respectively. There were about 90.4% people who consumed the potatoes through the stir-frying method.