Dietary mobile apps and their effect on nutritional indicators in chronic renal disease: A systematic review

Abstract

The authors undertook a systematic review of studies that used mobile apps to modify the compliance with dietary restrictions of patients with chronic kidney disease. They found only two randomised controlled trials and three case reports and thus clinical benefit or harm could not be determined. ABSTRACT:Dietary apps for mobile technology are becoming increasingly available and can assist in recording food and fluid intake for nutrition assessment or monitoring. Patients with chronic renal disease, particularly those on dialysis, are required to make significant dietary changes. This study systematically reviews the current literature to assess whether dietary mobile apps improve dietary intake and clinical outcomes in the renal population, specifically those with chronic kidney disease levels 3-5, including dialysis. A systematic search of Medline Complete, CINAHL, Embase, PsycINFO and the Cochrane Library was performed and supplemented by manual searches of citation and reference lists. Of the 712 studies considered, five were eligible for inclusion in this review. The quality of each included study was assessed using a Quality Criteria Checklist for Primary Research. Among five studies (two randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and three case studies/ reports), none found significant changes in nutrient intake, biochemical markers or intradialytic weight gain, through the use of dietary mobile apps. The included studies show potential for clinical benefits of mobile app interventions in a renal population. However, there is a need for additional rigorous trials to demonstrate if there is a clinical benefit of mobile app interventions in this population.

Feasibility study of an Online 24-hr Dietary Assessment Tool: myfood24, in a clinical population

“…However, having to undertake this dual recording of data both paper and online, could have also impacted on acceptability. Studies in populations with diabetes and renal disease support the suggestion that being able to input foods in real time via a phone app and adding other clinical data such as blood glucose levels can improve acceptability [13,14].…”

“…The opportunity for continued use would have provided valuable insights into its usability and acceptability in participants with a health condition [14].…”

“…In the same way it could be advantageous to complete online dietary assessments between clinic visits for review by the user and health professional. Using self-administered dietary assessment technologies has been shown to be a more engaging and accurate way of capturing a diet history [5,14] and preferred to traditional methods in people with diabetes [30]. Women in our study commented that they began to consider changes in their food intake from performing the recalls and receiving the feedback; this has been observed in other populations [13,15] and has been shown to improve uptake of self- professional to advise on dietary changes and increasing knowledge and skills has been shown to increase an individual's sense of control.…”

“…Given these favourable findings when using technology-assisted dietary assessment in healthy populations, their application in the management of medical conditions has begun to be explored [13,14]. They can provide a more consistent and complete assessment of both the type and quantity of food consumed.…”

Remote Care Technology: A Systematic Review of Reviews and Meta-Analyses

“…A second study, related to the use of interactive web-based applications and videoconferencing for the telerehabilitation of people with multiple sclerosis [42], highlighted the lack of methodologically robust trials. A third article showed the potential clinical benefits of dietary interventions based on smartphone applications for chronic renal patients, although there is a need for additional robust trials [43]. Finally, a fourth article aimed to analyze the impact of smartphone applications targeting overweight or obese people, and concluded that when exclusively considering the use of mobile technologies (21 RCT), a significant reduction in weight was observed [27].…”