Key result
Diet and exercise counseling lowers office SBP by ~15 mmHg vs. control at 12 weeks.
Why the study?
Although lifestyle modification is recommended as first-line treatment for lowering blood pressure in individuals with prehypertension and drug-naïve stage 1 hypertension, randomized controlled data in this population remain limited.
Does diet and aerobic exercise counseling reduce blood pressure in participants with prehypertension and drug-naïve stage 1 hypertension?
Does diet and aerobic exercise counseling reduce blood pressure in participants with prehypertension and drug-naïve stage 1 hypertension?
Dietary management and aerobic exercise counseling significantly reduced office systolic and diastolic blood pressure, but not 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure, in patients with prehypertension and drug-naïve stage 1 hypertension.
Supports recommending diet/exercise counseling as initial therapy in prehypertension; confirms consensus recommendations with multicenter RCT evidence.
While lifestyle modification is recommended as first-line treatment for lowering blood pressure (BP) in individuals with prehypertension and drug-naïve stage 1 hypertension, there is a paucity of randomized controlled data on such subjects. This multicenter, open-label, randomized clinical trial enrolled 70 participants (N = 35 per group) with prehypertension and drug-naïve stage 1 hypertension, defined as a systolic BP (SBP) of 130-159 mmHg and/or a diastolic BP (DBP) of 85-99 mmHg. The diet & exercise (D&E) group received counseling and monitoring on diet (DASH; dietary approaches to stop hypertension) and regular physical exercise for 12 weeks. The primary outcome was the change in systolic and diastolic BP after 12 weeks. Secondary outcomes included the 24-hour BP and its components and inflammatory markers. Compared with the control group, office SBP and DBP were reduced in the D&E group by 15.1 (-8.73 vs. 6.38 mmHg, p = 0.003) and 6.68 (-4.57 vs. 2.11 mmHg, p = 0.003) mmHg, respectively. The 24-hour ambulatory SBP did not change significantly in either group after 12 weeks (-0.72 vs. 1.92 mmHg, p = 0.667). In subgroup analysis, female, older-age participants and participants with higher baseline BP showed higher reductions in office SBP. Positive effects on office BP were noted by dietary and exercise education, especially in female and older-age participants.Trial registration: 15/05/2022, NCT05274971.
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Lim et al. (2025) studied this question. Dietary management and aerobic exercise counseling reduced office systolic blood pressure by 15.1 mmHg and diastolic blood pressure by 6.68 mmHg compared to the control group after 12 weeks.
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