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Introduction Conventional CHF nutrition counseling is often one-size-fits-all. We developed and tested a DDS-guided, tiered dietary diversification program for elderly CHF patients able to eat orally. Method A quasi-experimental study with a non-randomized, non-concurrent control design was used. Eighty-eight elderly oral-feeding CHF patients were selected from the Cardiovascular Department of a tertiary general hospital in Zunyi City (July–October 2022): the control group (July–August, n = 44) and the intervention group (September–October, n = 44). The control group received conventional dietary guidance, while the intervention group underwent personalized intervention based on the Dietary Diversity Score (DDS9) and nutritional status, with 2-month post-discharge follow-up. The Dietary Diversity Score (DDS9) and nutritional indicators (Heart Failure-Specific Mini Nutritional Assessment MNA-HF, Body Mass Index BMI) were compared between the groups at baseline, 1 and 2 months post-intervention. Results There were no statistically significant differences in baseline data between groups ( p 0.05). After 1 month, the intervention group showed significantly higher scores in Total DDS and specific food groups (fish, fruits, etc.) compared to the control group ( p 0.05), with a large effect size for Total DDS. After 2 months, significant improvements were maintained for Total DDS (large effect size) and MNA-HF (medium effect size) ( p 0.05). The intervention group exhibited a significantly greater upward trend in dietary diversity over time ( p 0.001, large effect size). Although absolute BMI trends did not differ significantly, the increase in BMI at 2 months was significantly greater in the intervention group (medium effect size). Discussion A DDS-guided, tiered intervention improved dietary diversity and nutritional status over 2 months in elderly CHF patients, demonstrating practicality and scalability. Limitations include the non-randomized, single-center design and short follow-up; longer multicenter trials are needed to confirm durability and clinical impact.
Zhou et al. (Wed,) studied this question.