Hypertension continues to be a major public health problem in the United States. We used data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey Epidemiologic Followup Study (1971-1984) to examine predictors of
hypertension for the 7,073 participants free from
hypertension at the baseline examination. The follow-up period averaged 10 years. Body mass index was positively related to the probability of
hypertension developing among white men (n = 2,370), white women (n = 3,949), black men (n = 231), and black women (n = 523). Education was inversely associated with the probability of
hypertension developing among white women and was of borderline significance among white men and black women. In a subanalysis of white men (n = 1,790) and white women (n = 3,063) who completed the 24-hour recall dietary questionnaire, dietary consumption of
sodium,
calcium, and
potassium did not predict the development of
hypertension. The failure of our study to support findings relating intake of dietary
cations to the development of
hypertension may be attributable to imprecision in the measurement of dietary data and misclassification of
hypertension status. These data reinforce the importance of weight control in the primary prevention of
hypertension.