Prevalence of nutrition and exercise counseling for patients with hypertension

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the prevalence of nutrition and exercise counseling for patients with hypertension. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey data from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS) and the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS) for 1999 and 2000. SETTING: Office-based physician practices and hospital outpatient departments. PATIENTS/PARTICIPANTS: Patients age 18 or older with a diagnosis of hypertension. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: In 1999 and 2000, over 137 million patient encounters had a diagnosis of hypertension. Nutrition and exercise counseling were provided at 35% and 26% of visits, respectively. Patients older than 74 received the least nutrition (28%) and exercise (18%) counseling. Asians and Hispanics were more likely to undergo any lifestyle counseling, while non-Hispanic whites received the least exercise and nutrition counseling. Patients with 2 cardiovascular comorbidities were counseled for diet (53%) and exercise (32%) more than those with 1 (44% and 31%) or none (30% and 23%; P