Untangling pathways of risk factors associated with hypertension among dysglycemia adults in eastern China: a structural equation model approach

Using structural equation model (SEM) to test a conceptual model of pathways of developing hypertension among dysglycemia (IFG and T2DM) adults in Eastern China, emphasizing the unique mediation effect of insulin resistance and obesity on the relationship between modified/unmodified factors and hypertension.

Participants with dysglycemia (n = 10,401) were extracted from the survey of Chronic Disease and Risk Factor Surveillance in Nanjing, the capital of Jiangsu Province in China. Dietary patterns were identified by using principal component analysis (PCA). SEM was employed to evaluate multiple pathways of hypertension among participants with IFG and T2DM. Three dietary patterns were derived using PCA. The tuber animal food pattern (OR = 0.825, 95% CI 0.723–0.940) and the balanced food pattern (OR = 0.812, 95% CI 0.715–0.922) were negatively associated with hypertension, while the Chinese rural food pattern (OR = 1.163, 95% CI 1.019–1.328) was positively associated with hypertension. The best SEM model showed that BMI (0.140), smoking (0.048) and Chinese rural food pattern (0.022) positively associated with hypertension; while tuber animal food pattern (− 0.025) had a negative direct effect on hypertension. Notably, insulin resistance could mediate the link between lifestyles (smoking and dietary patterns) and hypertension.

Accordingly, we emphasized the importance of lifestyle intervention, mainly including obesity management, choosing healthy diets and decreasing smoking control, which may profoundly benefit this high-risk group among Chinese population.