MOBILE Intervention Pilot Study in College Students With Elevated Blood Pressure

Abstract

Background Hypertension is typically recognized in middle-aged and older adults but often overlooked in younger populations. Objective We evaluated a mobile intervention for reducing blood pressure (BP) in college-age students for 28 days. Methods Students with elevated BP or undiagnosed hypertension were assigned to an intervention or control group. All subjects completed baseline questionnaires and attended an educational session. For 28 days, intervention subjects sent their BP and motivation levels to the research team and completed assigned BP-reducing tasks. After 28 days, all subjects completed an exit interview. Results We found a statistically significant decrease in BP in the intervention group only (P =.001) but no statistical difference in sodium intake for either group. Mean hypertension knowledge increased in both groups but was only significant for the control group (P =.001). Conclusions The results provide preliminary data on BP reduction with greater impact on the intervention group.