Browsing by Author "Kovac, Stacey"

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    A randomized controlled trial to evaluate the effectiveness of CouPLES: a spouse-assisted lifestyle change intervention to improve low-density lipoprotein cholesterol.
    (Preventive medicine, 2013-01) Voils, Corrine I; Coffman, Cynthia J; Yancy, William S; Weinberger, Morris; Jeffreys, Amy S; Datta, Santanu; Kovac, Stacey; McKenzie, Jamiyla; Smith, Rose; Bosworth, Hayden B

    Objective

    This randomized controlled trial evaluated the effectiveness of a telephone-delivered, spouse-assisted lifestyle intervention to reduce patient LDL-C.

    Method

    From 2007 to 2010, 255 outpatients with LDL-C>76 mg/dL and their spouses from the Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center were randomized to intervention or usual care. The intervention comprised nine monthly goal-setting telephone calls to patients and support planning calls to spouses. Outcomes were assessed at 11 months.

    Results

    Patients were 95% male and 65% White. LDL-C did not differ between groups (mean difference = 2.3 mg/dL, 95% CI = -3.6, 8.3, p = 0.44), nor did the odds of meeting goal LDL-C (OR = 0.95, 95% CI = 0.6, 1.7; p = 0.87). Intakes of calories (p = 0.03), total fat (p = 0.02), and saturated fat (p = 0.02) were lower for the intervention group. Cholesterol and fiber intake did not differ between groups (p = 0.11 and 0.26, respectively). The estimated rate of moderate intensity physical activity per week was 20% higher in the intervention group (IRR = 1.2, 95% CI = 1.0, 1.5, p = 0.06). Most participants did not experience a change in cholesterol medication usage during the study period in the intervention (71.7%) and usual care (78.9%) groups.

    Conclusion

    This intervention might be an adjunct to usual primary care to improve adherence to lifestyle behaviors.