Perceived Barriers to Follow AHA Dietary Recommendations in Hypercholesterolemic Patients

Hypercholesterolemia is an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Lifestyle modification including dietary changes is the first step for the treatment. Low adherence to dietary recommendations has reported earlier. This study purposed to identify barriers to the American Heart Association dietary recommendations in hypercholesterolemic patients. A 30-item structured questionnaire was designed and the reliability and validity of the questionnaire were evaluated. The exploratory factor analysis was performed on 160 hypercholesterolemic patients and extracted seven interpretable underlying factors of diet non-adherence (52.35% of total variance). These factors included "situational barriers and gathering," "takeaways and eating out," "psychological factors," "false beliefs and food habits," "lack of motivation," "enjoy eating and difficulty resisting the temptation" and "satisfaction with previous food habits". From the practical point of view, considering these perceived barriers, patient's culture, traditions, and dietary preferences can be beneficial in improving dietary adherence among hypercholesterolemic patients.