Health Economics of Primary Care Nutrition Interventions: a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Over half of primary care nutrition interventions were found to be cost-effective.
Health Economics of Primary Care Nutrition Interventions: a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Non communicable diseases (non communicable diseases) impose a major global health and economic burden, with poor diet recognized as a leading modifiable risk factor.
We sought to systematically review and synthesize evidence on the cost-effectiveness of nutrition care interventions delivered by nutrition professionals in primary care, from both societal and health care system perspectives.
DATA EXTRACTION: Randomized controlled trials reporting economic evaluations of primary care nutrition interventions were eligible.
The protocol was registered in PROSPERO under the number: CRD420251029435.
The meta-analysis employed random-effects models stratified by perspective.
Sensitivity analyses excluded influential outliers.
SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: PROSPERO registration No. [CRD420251029435].
Among 25 included studies, 56% were cost-effective and 20% were moderately cost-effective.
Pooled incremental net benefit favored cost-effectiveness from a societal perspective (€650.32), while the health care system perspective indicated initial investment requirements (-€402.65).
Telehealth delivery and diabetes-focused interventions demonstrated the strongest economic outcomes. Despite high heterogeneity, sensitivity analyses improved pooled estimates, reinforcing the robustness of findings.