Illness representation and change in dietary habits in hypercholesterolemic patients.
The association between a patient's illness representation and long-term changes in treatment adherence still needs to be clarified.


OBJECTIVE
to evaluate the association between the representation of hypercholesterolemia and dietary modifications over 1-year, controlling for biopsychosocial factors.


METHODS
208 hypercholesterolemic Caucasian patients. Measures of dietary intake, illness representation, and biopsychosocial factors were collected at baseline, 3, 6, and 12 months.


RESULTS
Two multiple regressions were performed on the 1-year change in dietary habits; one with subjects with elevated fat consumption at baseline, another with individuals with low-moderate fat consumption. Higher scores on items reflecting an accurate illness representation at baseline were associated with greater dietary modification among patients of the first group. For patients with low-moderate total fat consumption, maintenance of dietary habits was associated to lower scores on the perception of stress and symptoms.


CONCLUSIONS
To optimize adherence, intervention on illness representation should be adjusted according to initial dietary habits.
Coutu
Marie-France
MF
Department of Psychology, Université du Québec à Montréal, C. P. 8888, Succ. Down Town, Canada H3C 3P8. dupuis.gilles@uqam.ca
Dupuis
Gilles
G
D'Antono
Bianca
B
Rochon-Goyer
Lysanne
L
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001294:Attitude to Health; D018752:Diet, Fat-Restricted; D004041:Dietary Fats / Q000008:administration & dosage; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006266:Health Education / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D006937:Hypercholesterolemia / Q000178:diet therapy* / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D010349:Patient Compliance / Q000523:psychology*; D011792:Quebec; D012648:Self Care; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
D004041:Dietary Fats