Table 4.
Baseline patient characteristics
| Intervention (n = 115) | Control (n = 126) | P-value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gender male, n (%) | 69 (60) | 80 (63.5) | 0.58 |
| Age (years), mean (SD) | 74.7 (10.3) | 73.5 (10.8) | 0.42 |
| Chronic heart failure duration, median (IQR) | 5 (1–11) | 5 (2–10) | 0.66 |
| EF mean (SD) | 50.9 (13.2) | 47.7 (15.2) | 0.16 |
| HFpEF n (%) | 93 (80.9) | 94 (74.6) | 0.24 |
| NYHA stage, n (%) | |||
| I | 14 (12.2) | 25 (19.8) | |
| II | 69 (60) | 67 (53.2) | 0.26 |
| III | 32 (27.8) | 34 (27) | |
| Current smoker, n (%) | 14 (12.2) | 25 (19.8) | 0.11 |
| BMI kg/m2, n (%)a | |||
| < 25 | 25 (22.2) | 44 (35.8) | |
| 25–30 | 44 (38.9) | 52 (42.3) | 0.008 |
| ≥ 30 | 44 (38.9) | 27 (21.9) | |
| Hypertension, n (%) | 72 (62.6) | 65 (51.6) | 0.08 |
| Type 2 diabetes, n (%) | 30 (26.1) | 22 (17.5) | 0.10 |
| Hypercholesterolaemia, n (%) | 50 (43.5) | 54 (42.9) | 0.92 |
| COPD, n (%) | 9 (7.8) | 19 (15.1) | 0.08 |
| SF-36 mental health score, mean (SD) | 60.3 (21.2) | 60.1 (21.3) | 0.89 |
| SF-36 physical health score, mean (SD) | 52.1 (22.5) | 50.9 (22.1) | 0.66 |
| MLHFQ score, mean (SD)b | 29.1 (22.1) | 24.4 (21.7) | 0.07 |
| <24 | 50 (52.6) | 64 (57.7) | |
| 24–45 | 22 (23.2) | 26 (23.4) | 0.64 |
| >45 | 23 (24.2) | 21 (18.9) | |
| Patient adherencec, n (%) | |||
| Good adherence | 46 (44.2) | 49 (43) | |
| Minor nonadherence | 56 (53.9) | 60 (52.6) | 0.67 |
| Nonadherence | 2 (1.9) | 5 (4.4) | |
| Intervention (n = 102) | Control (n = 121) | P-value | |
| Treatment, n (%)e | 98 (96.1) | 117 (96.7) | 1.00 |
| β-blocker | 63 (61.8) | 73 (60.3) | 0.83 |
| ACE inhibitor | 51 (50) | 65 (53.7) | 0.58 |
| ARB | 34 (33.3) | 29 (24) | 0.12 |
| ACE inhibitor or ARBd | 85 (83.3) | 93 (76.9) | 0.23 |
| β-blocker and (ACE inhibitor or ARB) | 56 (54.9) | 60 (49.6) | 0.43 |
| Thiazide diuretics | 12 (12.6) | 16 (13.2) | 0.74 |
| Loop diuretics | 71 (69.6) | 78 (64.5) | 0.42 |
| Thiazide diuretics or loop diuretics | 76 (74.5) | 90 (74.3) | 0.98 |
| Mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists | 15 (14.7) | 21 (17.4) | 0.59 |
| Digoxin | 11 (10.8) | 10 (8.3) | 0.52 |
ACE inhibitor angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor, ARB angiotensin receptor blocker, COPD chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, HFpEF heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, EF ejection fraction, SD standard deviation
a n = 5 missing data for body mass index. bQuestionnaires with more than three missing responses were excluded (n = 35: 15 in the Control Group and 20 in the Intervention Group). c n = 23 missing data for adherence. dOne patient had angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor and angiotensin receptor blocker
e18 patients had missing data concerning treatments at baseline
Significant P-value are in bold