Effect of life style modification on adherence to diet and hypertension in hypertensive patients

Introduction: Hypertension is one of the most important health problems which cause significant morbidity and mortality and it can be affected by social factors. Life style modification is an effective strategy to manage blood pressure. This study aimed to determine the effect of educational program of lifestyle modification on adherence to diet and hypertension in hypertensive patients. Materials and Methods: This randomized clinical trial study was done on patients with hypertension referred to Heart clinic at Sayyad hospital of Gorgan in 2015. Patients recorded adherence to diet daily (including 5 subgroups; salt consumption, fatty foods, fruits, fresh vegetables, and low fat dairies), based on the obtained scores they were considered as poor, average and complete adherence. 98 eligible patients with average and low adherence was chosen via convenience sampling and allocated into control and intervention groups using stratified random allocation (n=49). For modifying life style, face to face education took place for intervention group twice a week, over a 2-week period. Each session lasted about 2 hours. Patients in the control group received routine care without any intervention. Educational content relevant to hypertension was including description of hypertension, modifying life style (daily exercise and physical activity, smoking cessation, weight control, improving sleep pattern, decreasing anxiety and stress management), use of prescribed drugs, attend to follow-up appointments, and following recommended diet. Then, adherence to diet was recorded daily for two weeks in both groups. Results: Result showed that education of life style modification was effective on diet adherence (P<0.001). Also the systolic and diastolic blood pressure was decreased after intervention (P