Cost-effectiveness of medical nutrition therapy and therapeutically designed meals for older adults with cardiovascular disease

Top Things to Know

Therapeutic meals are highly cost-effective for older adults with hyperlipidemia and/or hypertension.

MNT alone is also cost-effective, though slightly less so than therapeutic meals.

Combining MNT with therapeutic meals did not provide additional benefits over each intervention alone.

Summary of Conclusion/Findings

The study assessed the cost-effectiveness of medical nutrition therapy (MNT) and therapeutic meals for older adults with hyperlipidemia and/or hypertension. Participants were randomized into four groups: a control group, a therapeutic meal group, an MNT group, and a combined MNT-plus-therapeutic meal group. The primary outcome was quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs). The study found that therapeutic meals were cost-effective, with a 95% probability of being cost-effective at a willingness to pay of $109,000 per QALY. MNT alone also showed a high probability of cost-effectiveness, but the combination of MNT and therapeutic meals did not have a significant independent effect on QALYs.