School of Medicine and Health Sciences Poster Presentations

Smartphone-based vs. Traditional Dietary Counseling for the Mediterranean Diet in a US Cardiology Patient Population

Poster Number

139

Document Type

Poster

Status

Medical Student

Abstract Category

Cardiology/Cardiovascular Research

Keywords

Mediterranean diet, Digital health, Randomized controlled trial, Cardiovascular disease and prevention

Publication Date

Spring 2018

Abstract

Background Diet remains the largest uncontrolled risk factor for cardiovascular disease in the United States, and patients with heart disease require more extensive nutritional counseling to reduce their risk of adverse cardiovascular events. Randomized controlled trials conducted in Mediterranean countries have shown that following a Mediterranean diet reduces the occurrence of adverse cardiovascular events, and mobile health technology research demonstrates that smartphone applications help with weight loss. Objectives We tested the hypothesis that the Mediterranean diet can be applied to an American population and result in cardiovascular benefits. Simultaneously, we evaluated whether smartphone-based nutritional counseling results in better adherence to a Mediterranean diet compared with traditional, standard-of-care counseling. Methods 100 patients presenting to the cardiology clinic at the GW Medical Faculty Associates and meeting inclusion criteria were enrolled in a 6-month randomized controlled trial. Patients were arbitrarily assigned to receive either standard-of-care (SOC) or smartphone-based nutritional counseling (EXP) on the Mediterranean diet and scheduled for an in-person check-up at 1, 3, and 6 months to assess Mediterranean Diet Score (MDS, a validated measure of dietary compliance), patient satisfaction, weight and various biomarkers of cardiovascular health (e.g., BP, lipids, CRP, HbA1c). Results Baseline characteristics, including age, gender, and current cardiovascular status, of patients in the control (SOC) and experimental (EXP) group were statistically similar. Compliance and satisfaction with the Mediterranean diet increased significantly overtime for both treatment groups (p<0.001) but did not vary significantly between the groups (p>0.2). In addition, there was no statistically significant improvement in cardiovascular health overtime or between groups per our results. Patients in EXP did, however, experience significantly greater weight loss compared with SOC (p=0.04). Conclusions Per this US-based study of cardiology patients, the Mediterranean diet can be incorporated into the American lifestyle and adherence to the Mediterranean diet is effectively accomplished by both traditional and smartphone-based nutritional counseling.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

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Smartphone-based vs. Traditional Dietary Counseling for the Mediterranean Diet in a US Cardiology Patient Population

Background Diet remains the largest uncontrolled risk factor for cardiovascular disease in the United States, and patients with heart disease require more extensive nutritional counseling to reduce their risk of adverse cardiovascular events. Randomized controlled trials conducted in Mediterranean countries have shown that following a Mediterranean diet reduces the occurrence of adverse cardiovascular events, and mobile health technology research demonstrates that smartphone applications help with weight loss. Objectives We tested the hypothesis that the Mediterranean diet can be applied to an American population and result in cardiovascular benefits. Simultaneously, we evaluated whether smartphone-based nutritional counseling results in better adherence to a Mediterranean diet compared with traditional, standard-of-care counseling. Methods 100 patients presenting to the cardiology clinic at the GW Medical Faculty Associates and meeting inclusion criteria were enrolled in a 6-month randomized controlled trial. Patients were arbitrarily assigned to receive either standard-of-care (SOC) or smartphone-based nutritional counseling (EXP) on the Mediterranean diet and scheduled for an in-person check-up at 1, 3, and 6 months to assess Mediterranean Diet Score (MDS, a validated measure of dietary compliance), patient satisfaction, weight and various biomarkers of cardiovascular health (e.g., BP, lipids, CRP, HbA1c). Results Baseline characteristics, including age, gender, and current cardiovascular status, of patients in the control (SOC) and experimental (EXP) group were statistically similar. Compliance and satisfaction with the Mediterranean diet increased significantly overtime for both treatment groups (p<0.001) but did not vary significantly between the groups (p>0.2). In addition, there was no statistically significant improvement in cardiovascular health overtime or between groups per our results. Patients in EXP did, however, experience significantly greater weight loss compared with SOC (p=0.04). Conclusions Per this US-based study of cardiology patients, the Mediterranean diet can be incorporated into the American lifestyle and adherence to the Mediterranean diet is effectively accomplished by both traditional and smartphone-based nutritional counseling.