Could Telenutrition Be Applied Interchangeably with the Face-to-Face Interview for Dietary Intake Assessment in Patients with Type ۲ Diabetes During the COVID-۱۹ Pandemic?

Background: COVID-۱۹ pandemic has caused limitations, in patients’ accessibility in clinical and research settings. We sought whether telenutrition could be applied interchangeably with face-to-face interview for dietary intake assessment by ۲۴-hour recall in patients with type ۲ diabetes mellitus (T۲DM) during the COVID-۱۹ pandemic. Methods: Sixty-eight females with T۲DM aged ۵۰-۵۵ years were enrolled randomly in a descriptive-analytic cross-sectional study. The patients completed three consecutive ۲۴-hour dietary recalls. The first one was a face-to-face interview, and the subsequent two recalls were conducted by telephone call. The total energy and ۱۸ selected nutrients intake were calculated for the three interviews. Results: The mean (±SD) age of participants was ۵۳.۹۷±۲.۱۴ years. The face-to-face interview resulted in significantly higher total energy and ۱۸ selected nutrients intake than the two telenutrition interviews (P value range: ۰.۰۳۱ - ۰.۰۰۱). No significant differences were found between the data provided from the two telenutrition interviews. Conclusion: Telenutrition underreports and underestimates the total energy and nutrient intakes compared with the face-to-face interview in the ۲۴-hour dietary recall. Therefore, it cannot be recommended to be applied interchangeably with a face-to-face interview for dietary intake assessment during the COVID-۱۹ pandemic, especially in patients whose nutrition assessment is of clinical importance. A combination of the two methods using new communication applications (e.g. WhatsApp) may cover the defects of telenutrition method.

Keywords:

COVID-۱۹ , Diabetes , Dietary intake , Face-to-face interview , Telenutrition , Telephone interview , ۲۴-hour recall