Effects of the amount of rice in meals on postprandial blood pressure in older people with postprandial hypotension: a within‐subjects design

Aims and objectives To determine the effect of the amount of rice carbohydrates consumed during mealtime on the extent of decrease in postprandial blood pressure in older people with postprandial hypotension. Background The incidence of postprandial hypotension is as high as 74% in older people with hypertension. Design A within‐subjects repeated measures design was used. Methods Thirty‐nine older people in nursing homes received a full serving and a half‐serving of rice on two separate days, in random order blood pressure and heart rate were measured before each meal and every 15 minutes for a total of 120 minutes after each meal. Data were analysed using repeated measures analysis of variance and the paired t ‐test with a Bonferroni adjustment using IBM spss version 19.0. Results The control and intervention conditions yielded significantly different patterns in systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure. Postprandial hypotension was less frequent under the intervention condition; however, decrease in rice intake did not significantly affect heart rate. Conclusion Reducing the amount of rice intake per meal prevents postprandial blood pressure decreases in the older people. Small and frequent meals with decreased carbohydrate content are recommended to prevent postprandial hypotension and its complications in the older people. Relevance to clinical practice Patients, dieticians and caregivers of older patients should be aware of the importance of diet, especially of decreasing the amount of carbohydrate in a meal. Smaller and more frequent meals are recommended for older people to slow gastric emptying.