Table 3.

Characteristics of clinical trials (n=4) that assessed the effect of the DASH diet on the development of the metabolic syndrome

Authors, year, and reference	Sample Size (n)	Country	Follow-up	Age years	Sex	Intervention	Assessment of the metabolic syndrome	Results
Azadbakht et al. 2005[26]	116	Iran	6 months	Adults	Men/women	Three diets were prescribed for 6 months: 1) a control diet, 2) a weight-reducing diet, 3) the DASH diet with reduced calories and increased consumption of fruit, vegetables, low-fat dairy, and whole grains and lower in saturated fat, total fat, and cholesterol and restricted to 2,400 mg Na.	ATP III	In compared to control diet, the DASH diet resulted in higher HDL-C, lower TGs, SBP, weight, FBG among men and women.
Saneei et al. 2013[25]	60	Iran	6Ws intervention 4Ws washout 6Ws intervention	11-18	Girls	Sixty post pubescent adolescent girls with the MetS were randomized to either a DASH style diet or usual dietary advice for 6 weeks.	ATP III modified for children and adolescents	Changes in SBP, TGs, FPG, HDL-C, weight, WC and BMI were not significantly different between the two groups. The DASH diet prevented the increase in DBP compared with UDA (P=0.01). Compared with the UDA group, the DASH group experienced a significant reduction in prevalence of MetS and high BP.
Hikmat et al. 2014[24]	410	United states	8 weeks	≥ 22	Men/women	Participants were classified based on MetS status and were randomized to receive a control diet (a diet rich in fruits and vegetables) or the DASH diet.	ATP III	In the MS subgroup, the DASH diet compared with the control diet reduced systolic BP by 4.9 mm Hg (P=0.006) and diastolic BP by 1.9 mm Hg (P=0.15). The DASH diet controlled hypertension in 75% of hypertensive participants with MS (adjusted odds ratio=9.5 vs the control diet, P=0.05).
Choi et al. 2015[23]	39 Intervention: 21 Control: 18	Korea	8 weeks	≥ 60	Women	The treatment group received a weekly tailored nutritional program and the control group received only one educational session.	NCEP-ATP III modified for Asian Pacific Region	The oxidative stress (P<0.001) was lower in the experimental group than in the control group. LDL-C (P=0.023) had significantly decreased in the experimental group.

MetS=Metabolic syndrome, DASH=Dietary approach to stop hypertension, Ws=Weeks, UDA=Usual dietary advices, LDL-C=Low density lipoprotein, -cholesterol, HDL-C=High density lipoprotein, -cholesterol, TGs=Triglycerides, SBP=Systolic blood pressure, DBP=Diastolic blood pressure, FPG=Fasting plasma glucose, WC=Waist circumference, BMI=Body mass index