Intention to reduce dietary salt and its influencing factors in middle-aged and older hypertensive patients: a theory of planned behavior-based cross-sectional study.

The majority of middle-aged and older hypertensive patients reported an intention to reduce dietary salt intake.

• 70.8% of participants reported an intention to reduce salt in their diets.
• The study included 558 middle-aged and older hypertensive patients aged 45 years and above.
• Data were collected from March to November 2023 across 38 districts and counties in Chongqing Municipality, China.
• Face-to-face questionnaire interviews using a Likert scale were conducted.

Perceived behavioral control had the strongest positive effect on salt-reducing dietary intentions among the TPB constructs.

• Perceived behavioral control significantly and positively affected salt-reducing diet intentions (β = 0.70, p < 0.05).
• This was the largest standardized coefficient among all TPB constructs examined.
• Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used to explore these relationships.
• The finding suggests that patients' confidence in their ability to reduce salt is the dominant driver of intention.

Attitude toward a salt-reducing diet positively and significantly influenced salt-reducing dietary intentions.

• Attitudes toward a salt-reducing diet showed a significant positive effect on intentions (β = 0.22, p < 0.05).
• This effect was weaker than that of perceived behavioral control (β = 0.70) but statistically significant.
• SEM was used as the methodological basis for examining this relationship.

Subjective norms did not significantly affect intentions to reduce dietary salt.

• The path coefficient for subjective norms on salt-reducing dietary intention was β = 0.14, p > 0.05, indicating non-significance.
• This finding suggests that social pressure or perceived social expectations did not meaningfully drive salt reduction intentions in this population.
• This result distinguishes the relative importance of TPB constructs in this specific context.

The study sample was predominantly female, older-aged, and had mid-level educational attainment.

• 55.2% of the 558 participants were female.
• 61.3% were classified as older adults and 38.7% as middle-aged.
• 48% had a junior high school education or above.
• 44.1% were the primary home cook in their household.

The Theory of Planned Behavior provided the theoretical framework for understanding the psychological determinants of salt reduction intention in hypertensive patients.

• TPB constructs examined included attitude toward salt reduction (ATT), subjective norms of salt reduction (SN), and perceived behavioral control of salt reduction (PBC).
• The study also explored bidirectional correlations between ATT, SN, and PBC.
• The authors noted that TPB-based studies exploring dietary salt reduction intentions in middle-aged and older hypertension patients had not been well described in prior literature.