Key result
Telehealth MNT increases energy from nutrient-dense foods by ~6% in rural adults at CVD risk.
Why the study?
Adults in rural Australia face elevated cardiovascular disease risk, but no intervention trials have evaluated dietitian-delivered telehealth nutrition therapy exclusively in patients recruited from primary care.
Does telehealth-based Medical Nutrition Therapy improve dietary intake of nutrient-dense foods in rural adults at moderate-to-high risk of cardiovascular disease?
Does telehealth-based Medical Nutrition Therapy improve dietary intake of nutrient-dense foods in rural adults at moderate-to-high risk of cardiovascular disease?
Telehealth-delivered Medical Nutrition Therapy significantly improves dietary intake of nutrient-dense foods, quality of life, and patient activation in rural adults at elevated cardiovascular disease risk.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
May improve diet quality via telehealth MNT in rural CVD-risk adults; leaves open effects on clinical outcomes.
BACKGROUND: Adults in rural Australia are at elevated risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). To date, no intervention trials have evaluated the impact of dietitian delivered nutrition therapy using telehealth exclusively in patients recruited in the primary care setting. The primary aim was to assess effectiveness of telehealth delivered Medical Nutrition Therapy (MNT) on change in dietary intake energy, reported as percent energy derived from nutrient-dense (core) foods. Secondary aims included assessment of the intervention effects on percentage weight loss, quality of life, health literacy and patient engagement in their health (patient activation). METHODS: This was a secondary data analysis of a pragmatic cluster Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT). Adults from rural areas within the New England North West and Upper Hunter regions of New South Wales, Australia, were identified by their general practitioner (GP) following a Heart Health Check, as being at moderate-to-high risk of CVD and invited to participate. General practices were randomised into intervention or usual care groups. Intervention participants received five personalised telehealth MNT consultations over 6 months. Usual care received stand-alone personalised nutrition reports. All participants were managed by their GP and followed up after 12 months. Primary and secondary outcomes were analysed using Bayesian linear mixed models. Models included fixed categorical effects for time, group, group-by-time interaction, age, and sex, with additional predetermined adjustment for variables determined by the literature. RESULTS: Mean baseline to 12-month increase in percentage of energy from core foods was 7.0% (9.4 SD) for the intervention group and 1.3% (9.6 SD) for usual care group, with an estimated adjusted difference in mean change of 5.9% (95%CI 0.5-11.2). Significant improvements in quality of life (0.04, 95%CI 0.01-0.07) and patient activation were also observed (6.44, 95%CI 0.99-11.83) favouring the intervention group. CONCLUSION: A personalised telehealth MNT intervention delivered by dietitians significantly improved percentage energy from nutrient-dense foods amongst rural adults at an elevated risk of CVD. Future research is required to support implementation of telehealth MNT into general practice in rural Australia. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ACTRN12621001495819).
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Dewar et al. (2025) studied this question. Telehealth-based Medical Nutrition Therapy increased the percentage of energy from nutrient-dense foods by 5.9% in rural adults at risk of cardiovascular disease.
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