Do Personalized Nutrition Interventions Improve Dietary Intake and Risk Factors in Adults With Elevated Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors? A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

Context: Dietary modifications can improve cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors. Personalized nutrition (PN) refers to individualized nutrition care based on genetic, phenotypic, medical, behavioral, and/or lifestyle characteristics. PN may be beneficial in improving CVD risk factors, including diet. However, this has not been reviewed previously.

Objective: The aim was to evaluate the effectiveness of PN interventions on CVD risk factors and diet in adults at elevated CVD risk.

Data sources: Six databases were searched for randomized controlled trials published between 2000 and 2023 that tested the impact of PN interventions on CVD risk factors in people at elevated risk.

Data extraction: Risk of bias was assessed using the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Quality Criteria checklist. Data synthesis of eligible articles included participant characteristics, intervention details, and change in primary CVD risk factor outcomes, including blood pressure (BP), plasma lipids, and CVD risk score, and secondary risk factors, including anthropometric outcomes and diet quality. Random-effects meta-analyses were conducted to explore weighted mean differences (WMDs) in change or final mean values for studies with comparable data (studies with dietary counseling interventions) for outcomes including BP, blood lipids, and anthropometric measurements.

Data analysis: Of 7676 identified articles, 16 articles representing 15 studies met the inclusion criteria. Studies included between 40 and 563 participants and reported outcomes for CVD risk factors, including hyperlipidemia (n = 5), elevated BP (n = 3), overweight/obesity (n = 1), and multiple risk factors (n = 6). Risk of bias was low. Results suggested potential benefit of PN on systolic BP (WMD: -1.91; 95% CI: -3.51, -0.31 mmHg) and diastolic BP (WMD: -1.49; 95% CI: -2.39, -0.58 mmHg) and dietary intake in individuals at high CVD risk. Results were inconsistent for plasma lipid and anthropometric outcomes.

Conclusion: Results were promising for PN interventions that used dietary counseling on CVD risk factors in at-risk individuals. However, further evidence for other personalization methods is required, including improving methodological quality and longer study duration in future PN interventions.

Systematic review registration: OpenScience Framework (https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/SHVWP).