The Effectiveness of eHealth Interventions on Lifestyle Modification in Patients With Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

BackgroundThe prevalence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is increasing in parallel with the epidemic of obesity and metabolic syndrome. Lifestyle modification is a crucial strategy for the treatment of NAFLD, which can lead to a reduction in liver fat with concomi...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Oh Young Kwon, Jin-young Choi, Yeonsoo Jang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: JMIR Publications 2023-01-01
Series:Journal of Medical Internet Research
Online Access:https://www.jmir.org/2023/1/e37487
_version_ 1797734473737961472
author Oh Young Kwon
Jin-young Choi
Yeonsoo Jang
author_facet Oh Young Kwon
Jin-young Choi
Yeonsoo Jang
author_sort Oh Young Kwon
collection DOAJ
description BackgroundThe prevalence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is increasing in parallel with the epidemic of obesity and metabolic syndrome. Lifestyle modification is a crucial strategy for the treatment of NAFLD, which can lead to a reduction in liver fat with concomitant weight loss. The use of eHealth technologies is an effective approach to improve health outcomes in patients as they do not have any time and space limitations. ObjectiveThis study aimed to evaluate published eHealth intervention studies for the improvement of lifestyle modifications among patients with NAFLD and to provide recommendations for future studies. MethodsWe conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis. Five electronic databases (PubMed, Cochrane Central, CINAHL, Embase, and Web of Science) were searched for studies reporting the effect of lifestyle modification intervention using eHealth in patients with NAFLD published from inception to November 3, 2022. Study selection, data extraction, and quality assessment were performed by 3 researchers independently. The quality of included studies was assessed using the Cochrane risk of bias tool and the Risk of Bias Assessment Tool for Nonrandomized Studies. ResultsIn total, 2688 records were identified, and 41 full-text articles were assessed. Seven studies were included in the systematic review. The participants of all interventions were 1257 individuals with NAFLD, and the mean age ranged from 38.3 to 57.9 years. The duration of the interventions was 3-24 months, and all interventions were categorized into 3 types: internet-based computers, telephones, and mobile apps. Of these, 4 studies were randomized controlled trials and were included in the meta-analysis: 3 studies for body weight and BMI and 4 studies for alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST). According to the meta-analysis, clear improvements in BMI (P=.02; 95% CI –1.01 to –0.10), AST (P=.02; 95% CI –1.22 to –0.13), and ALT (P=.01; 95% CI –1.28 to –0.15) were observed in the eHealth intervention as compared with the control groups. ConclusionsLifestyle modification interventions using eHealth technologies are significantly effective for BMI, AST, and ALT in patients with NAFLD. Future research should conduct interventions with larger sample sizes and evaluate whether these interventions have sustained benefits, and how we can make these eHealth methods most effective on a large scale.
first_indexed 2024-03-12T12:44:48Z
format Article
id doaj.art-c2cf5b9ef69b47d384ce076c0e04ace7
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 1438-8871
language English
last_indexed 2024-03-12T12:44:48Z
publishDate 2023-01-01
publisher JMIR Publications
record_format Article
series Journal of Medical Internet Research
spelling doaj.art-c2cf5b9ef69b47d384ce076c0e04ace72023-08-28T23:28:55ZengJMIR PublicationsJournal of Medical Internet Research1438-88712023-01-0125e3748710.2196/37487The Effectiveness of eHealth Interventions on Lifestyle Modification in Patients With Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: Systematic Review and Meta-analysisOh Young Kwonhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-3878-9994Jin-young Choihttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-1475-5258Yeonsoo Janghttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-1898-025X BackgroundThe prevalence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is increasing in parallel with the epidemic of obesity and metabolic syndrome. Lifestyle modification is a crucial strategy for the treatment of NAFLD, which can lead to a reduction in liver fat with concomitant weight loss. The use of eHealth technologies is an effective approach to improve health outcomes in patients as they do not have any time and space limitations. ObjectiveThis study aimed to evaluate published eHealth intervention studies for the improvement of lifestyle modifications among patients with NAFLD and to provide recommendations for future studies. MethodsWe conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis. Five electronic databases (PubMed, Cochrane Central, CINAHL, Embase, and Web of Science) were searched for studies reporting the effect of lifestyle modification intervention using eHealth in patients with NAFLD published from inception to November 3, 2022. Study selection, data extraction, and quality assessment were performed by 3 researchers independently. The quality of included studies was assessed using the Cochrane risk of bias tool and the Risk of Bias Assessment Tool for Nonrandomized Studies. ResultsIn total, 2688 records were identified, and 41 full-text articles were assessed. Seven studies were included in the systematic review. The participants of all interventions were 1257 individuals with NAFLD, and the mean age ranged from 38.3 to 57.9 years. The duration of the interventions was 3-24 months, and all interventions were categorized into 3 types: internet-based computers, telephones, and mobile apps. Of these, 4 studies were randomized controlled trials and were included in the meta-analysis: 3 studies for body weight and BMI and 4 studies for alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST). According to the meta-analysis, clear improvements in BMI (P=.02; 95% CI –1.01 to –0.10), AST (P=.02; 95% CI –1.22 to –0.13), and ALT (P=.01; 95% CI –1.28 to –0.15) were observed in the eHealth intervention as compared with the control groups. ConclusionsLifestyle modification interventions using eHealth technologies are significantly effective for BMI, AST, and ALT in patients with NAFLD. Future research should conduct interventions with larger sample sizes and evaluate whether these interventions have sustained benefits, and how we can make these eHealth methods most effective on a large scale.https://www.jmir.org/2023/1/e37487
spellingShingle Oh Young Kwon
Jin-young Choi
Yeonsoo Jang
The Effectiveness of eHealth Interventions on Lifestyle Modification in Patients With Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
Journal of Medical Internet Research
title The Effectiveness of eHealth Interventions on Lifestyle Modification in Patients With Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
title_full The Effectiveness of eHealth Interventions on Lifestyle Modification in Patients With Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
title_fullStr The Effectiveness of eHealth Interventions on Lifestyle Modification in Patients With Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
title_full_unstemmed The Effectiveness of eHealth Interventions on Lifestyle Modification in Patients With Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
title_short The Effectiveness of eHealth Interventions on Lifestyle Modification in Patients With Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
title_sort effectiveness of ehealth interventions on lifestyle modification in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease systematic review and meta analysis
url https://www.jmir.org/2023/1/e37487
work_keys_str_mv AT ohyoungkwon theeffectivenessofehealthinterventionsonlifestylemodificationinpatientswithnonalcoholicfattyliverdiseasesystematicreviewandmetaanalysis
AT jinyoungchoi theeffectivenessofehealthinterventionsonlifestylemodificationinpatientswithnonalcoholicfattyliverdiseasesystematicreviewandmetaanalysis
AT yeonsoojang theeffectivenessofehealthinterventionsonlifestylemodificationinpatientswithnonalcoholicfattyliverdiseasesystematicreviewandmetaanalysis
AT ohyoungkwon effectivenessofehealthinterventionsonlifestylemodificationinpatientswithnonalcoholicfattyliverdiseasesystematicreviewandmetaanalysis
AT jinyoungchoi effectivenessofehealthinterventionsonlifestylemodificationinpatientswithnonalcoholicfattyliverdiseasesystematicreviewandmetaanalysis
AT yeonsoojang effectivenessofehealthinterventionsonlifestylemodificationinpatientswithnonalcoholicfattyliverdiseasesystematicreviewandmetaanalysis