A systematic review examining the effects of mHealth interventions on dietary adherence in patients with cardiovascular diseases

Abstract

A systematic review was conducted to determine if diet-focused mHealth interventions are effective for supporting dietary adherence in patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD), a population where nonadherence is common. A comprehensive literature search identified thirteen studies which met inclusion criteria: adults with a CVD diagnosis, use of an mHealth intervention, and measures of dietary adherence. Studies were excluded if interventions involved open dialogue or were qualitative studies or systematic reviews. Eight studies supported using mHealth interventions for improving dietary adherence, four showed mixed results, and one showed no improvements. Eight studies evaluated text and/or app-based mHealth interventions and found that their interactive features improved dietary adherence more compared to solely information delivering interventions. Overall, most mHealth interventions improved dietary adherence, however, nine studies had high risk of bias due to the outcome measurement, thus caution is advised when applying these findings to clinical settings for patients with CVD.