Effects of a lifestyle-related risk factor modification intervention on lifestyle changes among patients with coronary artery disease in Nepal

Objective: To investigate the effect of a lifestyle-related risk factor modification intervention on coronary artery disease (CAD) patients' lifestyle changes. Method: A randomized controlled study was conducted in Nepal. A total of 224 CAD patients (112 in each study group) were included at baseline, and 196 patients (98 in each group) completed the one-month follow-up. Patients in the intervention group (IG) received nurse-led intervention in addition to the usual care. Face-to face and telephone interview was conducted using standard questionnaires to collect data on lifestyle-related risk factors; smoking, alcohol consumption, diet, body mass index, stress, adherence to medical therapy, and physical activity. General linear model repeated measure analysis was used to analyse the effects of the intervention. Results: Based on self-reported data we found significant improvement in lifestyle-related risk factor habits in the IG compared with the usual care group with respect to diet (p < 0.001), physical activity (p < 0.001), medication adherence (p < 0.001) and stress (p < 0.001) at one-month follow-up. Conclusion: Lifestyle-related risk factor modification intervention can positively influence health risk habits, even when it is less intensive but supplemented with information leaflets. Practical implications: Nurse-led one-time intervention may successfully deliver counselling to improve healthy lifestyle among underserved CAD patients. (c) 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Automated summary

A one-time nurse-led intervention can successfully improve the lifestyle habits related to diet, physical activity, medication adherence, and stress among coronary artery disease patients. Consequently, even less intensive interventions supplemented with information leaflets can have a positive impact.