title: Personal and mediated health counseling for sustained dietary reduction of hypercholesterolemia.
abstract: Methods of effective cardiovascular risk reduction that are suitable for use in clinical settings are needed. Several behavioral interventions were designed to be compatible with office-based medical practice, to be delivered by paraprofessional counselors, and to be of low intensity and low cost. Eighty-three hypercholesterolemic volunteers were assigned to one of three experimental conditions (face-to-face counseling, mail and telephone counseling, initial session only). Twenty-six nonrandomized subjects served as a no-contact group and were followed for 1 year. Participants in the first three groups received risk factor education, behavioral recommendations, and a packet of materials, while those in the face-to-face and mail/telephone counseling groups were contacted for five brief follow-up sessions over a 4-month period. At the 1-year follow-up evaluation, subjects in the face-to-face and mail/telephone counseling conditions showed decreases in plasma cholesterol of 6.2 and 4.6%, respectively (P less than 0.01), while the other two groups evidenced small increases. There were no differences by condition for plasma triglycerides, systolic or diastolic blood pressure, or weight. Low-intensity, low-cost behavioral interventions delivered by paraprofessionals can produce long-term decreases in a major cardiovascular risk factor. Physicians are encouraged to incorporate similar interventions into their practices.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001521:Behavior Therapy; D001794:Blood Pressure; D001835:Body Weight; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D006937:Hypercholesterolemia / Q000178:diet therapy* / Q000523:psychology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D014280:Triglycerides; D002784:Cholesterol