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Potatoes, Hypertension RIsk and Endothelial Function Study (PHRIES)

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Mass General Brigham

Status

Completed

Conditions

Endothelial Dysfunction

Treatments

Other: Non-starchy vegetable
Other: Potato

Study type

Interventional

Funder types

Other

Identifiers

NCT03116919
2017P000405

Details and patient eligibility

About

White potatoes have recently been allowed back in the cash value voucher of the government food stamp program after it was stated that there were no known adverse health effects of potatoes. However, the association of potatoes with heart health, especially elevated blood pressure is not known. This study will examine the effects of potatoes on blood pressure in different populations of adults and children, and assess, in a feeding trial, the effects of an additional serving of potatoes per day on the possible mechanisms that link potatoes to high blood pressure. The investigators will also analyze the intake of potatoes in participants of the government food stamp program.

Full description

Potatoes are one of the most consumed vegetables in the US and the world. In recent years, several changes have been made to government sponsored food programs with respect to potatoes, such as lifting the restriction on the number of servings of starchy vegetables (including potatoes) established by the Healthy Hunger-Free Act, and re-allowing white potatoes in the cash-value voucher for fruits and vegetables of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), after the Institute of Medicine asserted that there was insufficient evidence that white potatoes had adverse health effects. However, the investigators recently reported an increased incidence of hypertension with increasing potato consumption in three large prospective US cohort studies after adjusting for sodium intake and other potential confounders. The investigators also analyzed the association of short-term potato intake from a 24-hr dietary recall with endothelial-dependent vasodilation measured by brachial artery ultrasonography in the Modifiable Effectors of Renin System Activation Treatment Evaluation (MODERATE) trial. Participants who consumed one or more than one serving of boiled, baked or mashed potatoes during the previous day had a 1.7% lower endothelial-dependent vasodilation when compared with participants with no potato intake (p-value= 0.01) after adjusting for other factors. This is a relevant difference in endothelial function - by comparison, every 10 year increase in age was associated with a 1.2% lower endothelial function. Therefore, the investigators plan to analyze the effect of one serving of boiled, baked or mashed potato per day on endothelial function in a crossover feeding trial of healthy adult men and women.

Enrollment

88 patients

Sex

All

Ages

18 to 45 years old

Volunteers

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

  • 18-45 years of age
  • without known cardiovascular risk factor

Exclusion criteria

  • History of hypertension, diabetes or cardiovascular disease

Trial design

Primary purpose

Prevention

Allocation

Randomized

Interventional model

Crossover Assignment

Masking

None (Open label)

88 participants in 2 patient groups

Potato arm
Other group
Description:
One group will be fed an extra serving of boiled, baked or mashed potatoes daily for 1 week
Treatment:
Other: Potato
Non-starchy vegetable
Other group
Description:
Then crossover to an extra serving of a non-starchy vegetable
Treatment:
Other: Non-starchy vegetable

Trial contacts and locations

1

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Data sourced from clinicaltrials.gov

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