Efficacy of Technology-Assisted Personalized Nutrition Therapy in Managing Malnutrition Problems: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Clinical Trials

Abstract

Introduction: Malnutrition including obesity has long been an urgent health issue worldwide, but COVID-19 has put more challenges to its management. Aided with technology, personalized nutrition is a novel potential solution. Therefore, this paper aims to evaluate the efficacy of technology-assisted personalized nutrition therapy in managing nutrition problems. Methods: We conducted literature screening through databases including PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane, ScienceDirect, EBSCOHost, and Google Scholar, searching for clinical trials implementing technology-assisted personalized nutrition therapy up to August 2021. Quality of studies were evaluated using the Cochrane Risk of Bias 2.0 tool and converted to AHRQ standards. We conducted qualitative extraction and quantitative analysis of mean differences using Review Manager 5.4 in inverse variance, random-effects model and whenever possible, subgroup and sensitivity analyses were performed. Results: Our search yielded 9 studies with 5,173 participants. Technology-assisted personalized nutrition, delivered through web, mobile, or telephone-based approaches, is proven effective in improving anthropometric outcomes including weight (pooled MD: -0.82; 95%CI:-1.30—0.35; p=0.0007) and BMI of (pooled MD: -1.30; 95%CI:-1.97—0.62; p<0.00001) of the target participants. Improvements in dietary pattern is also significant as seen in better intakes of fruits and vegetables (pooled MD: 0.86; 95%CI:0.18-1.53; p=0.01), reduction of saturated fat and sweetened beverages, as well as general diet scores. Additionally, markers of inflammation, oxidative stress, total cholesterol, and blood glucose of participants also decreased significantly with the intervention. Conclusion: Technology-assisted personalized nutrition is proven to be more effective compared to previous population-based intervention, thus supporting its potential use in clinical settings.