Influence of antihypertensive therapy on dietary structure among rural elderly hypertension patients

Objective To investigate dietary structure of hypertension patients in rural Beijing and the impact of antihypertensive treatment on dietary structure. Methods Dietary questionnaire survey and medical examination were conducted among 213 residents aged 45 years and over in Zhangfang village of Beijing in July 2015;then 126 residents identified with hypertension through the survey were assigned into a treatment group (71) with antihypertensive medication and a non-treatment group(55) without the medication.A 24-hour dietary recall survey was conducted continuously for three days among the 126 hypertension patients with inquiry and food frequency method;blood pressure, height, and weight of the hypertensives were also measured. Results For all the hypertension patients, the average total energy intake was 8 088.9±315.9 kilojoules(kJ);the proportion of energy intake from protein, fat, and carbohydrates were 10.5±2.8%, 24.6±6.3%, and 64.9±7.1%, respectively;the hypertension patients of treatment group had significantly higher proportion of energy from carbohydrates (66.9±6.2%) and lower proportion of energy from fat (23.1±5.6%) and protein (10.0±2.2%) than those of non-treatment group (P < 0.05 for all).Compared to those of the non-treatment group, the hypertension patients of treatment group reported significantly lower proportions for consuming milk (8.5% vs.21.8%), soy products (16.9% vs.34.5%), and nuts (12.7% vs.30.9%)(P < 0.05 for all). Conclusion Antihypertensive therapy influences dietary behavior, leading to more unreasonable dietary structure, among rural hypertension patients and the situation needs to be changed through promoting dietary approaches to stop hypertension(DASH) among the patients.