Reductions in glycemic and lipid profiles in hypertensive patients undergoing the Brazilian Dietary Approach to Break Hypertension: a randomized clinical trial

Hypertensive patients often have an unfavorable lipid and glucose profile. The main goal of dietary treatment for these patients is to achieve adequate control of blood pressure and reducing cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether the Brazilian Dietary Approach to Break Hypertension (BRADA) based on Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension but with both low sodium and glycemic index foods could reduce lipid and glycemic profiles in hypertensive patients who were seeing primary health care providers in a low-income region of Brazil. A randomized study of 206 individuals were followed up for the duration of 6 months. The experimental group received orientation and planned monthly menus from the BRADA diet. In the control group, counseling was based on standard care and mainly focused on salt intake reduction. Differences in all biochemical parameters were compared at the baseline and at the 6-month follow-up period. The mean age was 60.1 (±12.9) years old, and 156 subjects (119 females) completed the study. An intention-to-treat analysis showed that both groups reduced fasting plasma glucose, glycated hemoglobin, total cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations; however, statistically significant between-group differences were found for these parameters. The mean difference in fasting glucose was −7.0 (P < .01), −0.2 for HbA1c (P < .01), −28.6 for TC (P < .01), and −23.8 for LDL-c (P < .01) for the experimental group compared with the control group. This study showed the efficacy of the BRADA diet to treat hypertension on biochemical parameters tested in a primary health care service setting.