Baseline characteristics of participants (N (%) or mean (SD))
| Intervention arm (N=968) | Control arm (N=984) | P value | |
| Age (years) | 56.8 (12.4) | 55.7 (12.5) | 0.05 |
| Female gender | 584 (60%) | 603 (61%) | 0.35 |
| Years of education | 7.1 (3.7) | 7.3 (3.4) | 0.08 |
| Widow/r/separated | 157 (16%) | 126 (13%) | 0.02 |
| History of diabetes mellitus | 258 (27%) | 232 (24%) | 0.06 |
| History of major cardiovascular disease | 143 (15%) | 125 (13%) | 0.10 |
| Body mass index (Kg/m2) | 25.5 (4.8) | 25.8 (4.6) | 0.15 |
| Systolic blood pressure (BP) (mm Hg) | 147.7 (21.3) | 145.46 (21.5) | 0.02 |
| Diastolic BP (mm Hg) | 89.1 (12.2) | 88.2 (11.6) | 0.13 |
| Prescribed an antihypertensive drug by a medical practitioner | 479 (50%) | 546 (56%) | 0.01 |
| Medication adherence score (out of 8) | 4.5 (1.7) | 4.6 (1.4) | 0.39 |
| Current tobacco smoking | 94 (10%) | 91 (9%) | 0.73 |