Sodium Intake Prediction with Health Promotion Model Constructs in Rural Hypertensive Patients.

ABSTRACT

Background: Hypertension is the most common cause of cardiovascular disease, and the growing epidemic is a serious warning to pay more attention to this disease. The aims of this study were to examine the relationships between the health promotion model (HPM) constructs and sodium intake, and to determine the predictive power of the HPM constructs as the possible mediators of sodium intake in rural Iranian hypertensive patients. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 671 hypertensive patients in Ardabil, Iran in 2013. The data were obtained during a 25-40 min face-to-face conversation by validated and reliable instruments. The nutritional data were assessed with Nutritionist version 4 (N4) software. Descriptive statistics, Spearman’s correlations were calculated using SPSS Statistics version 18.0. Structural equation modeling was conducted using AMOS version 18. Results: Sodium intake was negatively correlated with perceived benefi ts (r = -0.707; P < 0.01), perceived self-effi cacy (r = -0.719; P < 0.01), situational infl uences (r = -0.590; P < 0.01), interpersonal infl uences (r = -0.637; P < 0.01), commitment to action (r = -0.605; P < 0.01), affects related behavior (r = -0.499; P < 0.01), and positively associated with the perceived barriers score (r = 0.563; P < 0.01). The structural equation modeling showed that the model explained 63.0% of the variation in sodium intake. Conclusions: HPM constructs were signifi cantly associated with sodium intake and dietary perceptions based on HPM constructs can predict acceptable rate of the variation of sodium intake. Therefore, we suggest using this model constructs to improve the effectiveness of nutritional interventions.