Effects of a 6-Month Educational Program on Blood Pressure in Pre-Frail and Frail Older Adults: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

Background/Objectives: Maintaining healthy blood pressure (BP) is essential in the frailty phenotype to prevent cardiovascular events. This study examined the effects of a 6-month educational program on BP in community-dwelling pre-frail or frail older adults. Methods: In this multicenter randomized controlled trial, 210 community-dwelling older adults (145 women; 74± 6 years) meeting at least one of Fried’s frailty criteria were assigned to a control group (usual care; n = 95) or an intervention group (educational program; n = 115). The 6-month intervention consisted of an educational program that provided recommendations on physical activity, nutrition, cognition, and psychosocial well-being, delivered through four group sessions and six telephone calls. Systolic BP and diastolic BP were measured at baseline and after 6 months, and categorized as normal, high-normal, or hypertensive (systolic: <130, 130–139, ≥140 mmHg; diastolic: <85, 85–89, ≥90 mmHg, respectively). Results: A significant reduction in systolic BP was observed within the intervention group (Z = −2.84, p < 0.01, r = 0.27), increasing the proportion of participants with normal systolic BP by 16% and reducing the proportion of participants with high-normal and hypertensive systolic BP by 8% each (χ2 (3) = 9.21, p = 0.03). No significant changes were observed in the control group (p > 0.05), nor were there significant effects for diastolic BP in any study group (p > 0.05). Conclusions: These findings suggest that this educational program may be a feasible complementary non-pharmacological strategy to improve systolic BP, a key cardiovascular risk factor, in community-dwelling pre-frail and frail older adults.