Healthy eating index scores differ by race/ethnicity but not hypertension awareness status among US adults with hypertension: findings from the 2011-2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

Background. Little is known about whether or not diet quality is associated with race/ethnicity as well as hypertension awareness status among adults with hypertension. Objective. The aim of this study was to examine associations between diet quality and race/ethnicity as well as hypertension awareness. Design. Analysis of the 2011-2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a cross-sectional survey representative of the US population. Participants/setting. A total of 6, 483 participants with hypertension who were at least 18 years old and had dietary recall data were included. Main outcome measures Diet quality was assessed by Healthy Eating Index 2015 (HEI-2015). Statistical analysis performed. Weighted χ² tests were employed to test associations between categorical variables. Weighted linear regression was used to model the HEI-2015 score by various covariates. Results. Among the 6, 483 participants with hypertension included in this study, the average HEI-2015 total score was 54.0 out of the best...