A Randomized Trial of Home Blood-Pressure Reduction by Alcohol Guidance during Outpatient Visits: OSAKE study.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effectiveness of the nurse-led alcohol guidance to control home blood pressure in the morning (HBP) among male patients with hypertension during outpatient visits. METHOD We enrolled 53 male patients with an HBP of ≥ 135/85 mmHg with excessive drinking (alcohol ≥210 g/week or ≥60 g/day habitually) among outpatients in a randomized trial. Patients were assigned to a nurse-led intervention (in which patients were encouraged to reduce their alcohol consumption in addition to the usual treatment every 2 months) or to the control (in which patients were followed by their doctor as usual). The primary outcomes were the mean HBP of 5 consecutive days at 6 months and alcohol consumption. RESULTS Twenty-eight and 25 patients were randomized to intervention and control groups, respectively (mean age; 62.7 years old and 64.5, respectively). At baseline, the mean HBP was 143/90 mmHg in the intervention group and 144/88 mmHg in the control group (n.s.). At 6 months, the mean HBP was 131/82 mmHg and 145/87 mmHg, respectively (SBP<0.001, DBP=0.09). An HBP level of less than 135/85 mmHg was achieved among 55.6% of the participants in the intervention group versus 16.7% in the control group (P=0.004). At baseline, the weekly alcohol consumption was 479±353 g in the intervention group and 360±182 g in the control group (n.s.). At 6 months, it was 256±206 g and 413±260 g, respectively (p=0.020). CONCLUSIONS We confirmed the effectiveness of the nurse-led alcohol guidance to control the HBP in male patients with hypertension during outpatient visits.