2.4. Control Group
hypertension
HYPERTENSION
Participants allocated to the control group had monthly appointments with registered dietitians, in line with standard care practices. During the first visit, participants received an explanatory leaflet on hypertension and provided general recommendations. These recommendations included reducing sodium intake, avoiding high-sodium foods and alcoholic beverages, and losing weight if a body mass index was greater than 25 kg/mAnthropometric and office BP measurements were performed monthly. The 24-h ambulatory BP monitoring was performed at baseline and at the end of the study.Instruments used for data collection: The DSRQ has been validated for patients with hypertension [The subscale scores for attitude and subjective norm vary from 9 to 40, where higher scores indicate a more positive attitude toward a low-sodium diet and greater motivation to follow it due to the approval of significant others. On the other hand, the scores for perceived behavioral control range from 3 to 15, where a higher score indicates a lower perceived ability to stick to a low-sodium diet. Finally, the scores for dependent behavior subscale range from 4 to 20, where a higher score signifies greater challenges in adhering to the low-sodium diet. Trial management:The research team comprised trained graduate students from the Nursing and Medicine Schools, as well as two registered dietitians who were postgraduate students. Their responsibilities included recruiting participants, inviting them to participate, administering informed consent, screening for eligibility, and collecting data. Additionally, the registered dietitians applied the DSRQ.The collection of data took place at the Clinical Research Center located at HCPA. To measure BP, ABPM was conducted at the beginning and end of the six-month intervention period using Spacelabs 90207 devices (Redmond, WA, USA). BP was recorded every 15 min from 6 am to 10 pm and every 20 min during nighttime. The validity of ABPM required at least 16 daytime and 8 nighttime readings [