Effects of Telemedicine on Obese Patients With Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background: Little is known of the efficacy of telemedicine on the clinical outcomes of the high-risk group of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) patients, such as those with obesity. This study aimed to determine the effects of telemedicine vs. usual care for the management of obese patients with NAFLD. Methods: Literature searches were performed from inception to 1st June 2021 in the following databases: Cochrane CENTRAL, ScienceDirect, PubMed, and Scopus. Prospective trials assessed the effects of telemedicine on obese patients with NAFLD were included. The outcomes of interest were alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), triglyceride, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, and body mass index, which were reported as weighted mean difference (WMD) with 95% confidence interval (CI). Results: Four studies were examined in the systematic review, one was excluded from the meta-analysis due to an inappropriate group-comparison. In all, 285 obese patients with NAFLD were included in the meta-analysis (70% of those received telemedicine intervention). The mean ages of the patients in the telemedicine and usual-care groups were 51.78 ± 5.91 and 47.30 ± 8.14 years, respectively. Telemedicine significantly decreased ALT levels compared with usual care (WMD = −18.93 U/L [95%CI: −25.97, −11.90]; I(2) = 53.8%), and it significantly decreased AST levels (WMD = −10.24 U/L [95%CI: −13.43, −7.05]; I(2) = 0.0%). However, telemedicine did not show significant benefits for the remaining outcomes. Conclusion: Compared with usual care, telemedicine significantly reduced the AST and ALT levels of obese patients with NAFLD. Further long-term studies with clinical endpoints are needed to determine the best characteristics of telemedicine and to confirm the benefits. Systematic Review Registration: PROSPERO [CRD42020207451].