Lifestyle Medicine Factors Associated with Blood Pressure Level among Pre-Ageing Individuals with Hypertension in a Network of Primary Care Units in Thailand

Abstract

This research aims to study the lifestyle medicine factors associated with blood pressure level among pre-aging individuals with hypertension in a network of primary care units in Thailand. This study uses an analytic cross-sectional design. The purposive sampling was used to select the study area for data collection. Data were collected among 139 participants from September to December 2023. The blood pressure was measured in a sitting position using digital sphygmomanometer. The lifestyle medicine behavior was evaluated using a questionnaire developed by the researchers. Results of the multiple regression analysis showed that there was no significant correlation between sample characteristic and blood pressure levels. However, there were seven lifestyle medicine behaviors associated with the blood pressure level: moderate to vigorous exercise for at least 150 minutes per week; warming up and cooling down before and after exercise; monitoring pulse rate during exercise; consuming whole fruits equivalent to the size of a fist (four pieces per day), or bite-sized fruit pieces (six to eight pieces per day); consuming dried nuts and seeds four to five handfuls per week; monitoring weight or waist circumference; and drinking alcoholic beverages to aid sleep. Some lifestyle medicine factors were associated with blood pressure level among pre-aging people. These factors could be useful for the care of pre-aging individuals with hypertension.