Associations of Lifestyle Intervention Effect with Blood Pressure and Physical Activity among Community-Dwelling Older Americans with Hypertension in Southern California.

Mei-Lan Chen,Susan Letvak,Jie Hu,Luba Ivanov,Thomas P Mccoy

doi:10.3390/ijerph17165673

Abstract

A healthy lifestyle and regular physical activity are highly recommended for older adults. However, there has been limited research into testing lifestyle intervention effects on physical activity in older adults with hypertension. The purpose of this study was to assess the association of lifestyle intervention effects with physical activity and blood pressure in older adults with hypertension, accounting for social support and perceived stress as control variables. This study performed a secondary analysis of a two-arm randomized controlled trial. A total of 196 participants were randomly assigned to a six-month lifestyle intervention group or a control group. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses demonstrated that lifestyle intervention effects were not significantly associated with improvements in physical activity and blood pressure, but the final regression models were statistically significant (all p < 0.001). The result revealed that only physical activity frequency at baseline was significantly related to improvement in physical activity. Systolic blood pressure (SBP) at baseline and monthly income were significantly associated with change in SBP, while age and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) at baseline were significantly related to change in DBP. The findings provide empirical evidence for developing and optimizing lifestyle interventions for future research and clinical practice in this population.

Highlights

Hypertension, a significant cause of morbidity and mortality, is one of the leading risk factors for stroke and cardiovascular diseases
The results indicate that the lifestyle intervention effect was not significant associated with change in diastolic blood pressure (DBP), but the final regression model was statistically significant (R2 = 0.49; p < 0.001)
Our findings in the study make an important contribution to the literature on lifestyle intervention and physical activity among older adults with hypertension

Summary

Introduction

Hypertension, a significant cause of morbidity and mortality, is one of the leading risk factors for stroke and cardiovascular diseases. 46% of adults, an estimated 116.4 million adults, have high blood pressure in the United States. The hypertension control rate is only about 25%. Among adults with hypertension [1]. The death rate resulting from high blood pressure increased. The estimated annual average direct and indirect cost of hypertension is. $55.9 billion; by 2035, the estimated direct costs of hypertension could increase to $220.9 billion [1]. High prevalence and poor control of hypertension remain significant burdens for older Americans

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