Cocoa Consumption and Blood Pressure in Middle-Aged and Elderly Subjects: a Meta-Analysis

AbstractPurpose of ReviewThe effect of cocoa consumption on blood pressure (BP) has been investigated in previous studies; however, to date, no meta-analysis has been conducted specific to middle-aged and elderly subjects. Thus, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of cocoa consumption on indices of blood pressure, in middle-aged and elderly subjects.Recent FindingsPubmed/Medline ™, Cochrane Library™, Google Scholar™, and Scopus™ were searched until March 2019. The quantitative Jadad scale was used as the systematic assessment of bias in the included trials. We used a random effects model to estimate the pooled weighted mean differences (WMDs) with 95% confidence int ervals (CIs). We further conducted sensitivity analysis and stratified analysis by baseline blood pressure, follow-up duration, and mean age. Thirteen studies with 758 total participants were included in the present meta-analysis. A significant reduction in SBP by 2.77 (95% CI − 5.28, − 0.27 ,P = 0.03,I2 = 89%) and DBP by 1.47 mm/Hg (− 95% CI − 2.40, − 0.55,P = 0.001,I2 = 45%) were observed after cocoa consumption. Stratified analyses showed BP-lowering effects of cocoa consumption in longer-term duration and hypertensive subgroups.SummaryOur meta-analysis showed a significant inverse association between cocoa consumption and SBP/DBP. However, the analysis could not conclude any beneficial effect of cocoa consumption on blood pressure in normotensive...
Source: Current Hypertension Reports - Category: Primary Care Source Type: research