Effectiveness of Dietary Intervention and PeerSupport Home Blood Pressure Monitoring in the Management of Hypertension among Low-Income Population in Urban Area

Backround/Aims: The objective was to assess the effectiveness of the dietary intervention and a peer-support home blood pressure monitoring program on the blood pressure, nutritional intake and blood profiles of hypertension patients in a low-income urban community setting. Methods: This was a community-based intervention involving low-income community living in community housing projects in urban areas within Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This study was conducted in 2013, among residents aged 18 years and above that has been diagnosed with hypertension by medical practitioners. The participants selected were those who received interventions on peer-support home blood pressure measurement, a series of talks on dietary intake modification and exercise demonstration for the first six months and another six months of maintenance phase where they only receive pamphlets and SMS reminder. The assessments were conducted at baseline, 6-month and 12-months of intervention consisting of anthropometric measurements, blood pressure and blood samples as well as undergoing a dietary assessment. Results: Macronutrients and micronutrients showed a significant improvement after the 12-month dietary intervention. The energy, carbohydrate, protein, fat, sodium, and potassium are showing significant reduction from baseline to end of 12-months intervention. Fasting blood glucose, renal sodium, triglyceride, LDL-C and HDL-C showed a significant improvement, after controlling for age and reported physical activity. Conclusion: This study has shown that dietary intervention, together with peer-support home blood pressure monitoring, shown positive outcome and can be applied to low-income community setting in order to control and manage the hypertension.