ASSOCIATION BETWEEN TELEHEALTH-DELIVERED NUTRITION THERAPY AND RISK OF NEW-ONSET OBESITY IN ADULTS WITH TYPE 2 DIABETES: A PROPENSITY SCORE-MATCHED SURVIVAL ANALYSIS
Author(s)
Priya Shanmugam, PhD1, Shaminie J. Athinarayanan, PhD2, Rebecca Adams, PhD3;
1Virta Health, Research, San Francisco, CA, USA, 2Virta Health, Reserach, West Lafayette, IN, USA, 3Virta Health, San Francisco, CA, USA
1Virta Health, Research, San Francisco, CA, USA, 2Virta Health, Reserach, West Lafayette, IN, USA, 3Virta Health, San Francisco, CA, USA
OBJECTIVES: The development of obesity among adults with type 2 diabetes (T2D) is associated with increased clinical complexity and higher healthcare costs. Evidence on scalable interventions to prevent obesity onset among adults with T2D remains limited in real-world settings. This study assesses the impact of Virta Health’s individualized nutrition therapy (INT) program, which provides nutritional counseling, remote biomarker monitoring, and medication management, on new-onset obesity among adults with T2D.
METHODS: This retrospective cohort study used closed claims data from the Komodo Healthcare Map. INT participants were matched to adults receiving outpatient T2D management using a propensity score estimated on US region, payer type, and baseline comorbidities, with exact matching applied to age, sex, race, and baseline use of antidiabetes medications. The study endpoint of new-onset obesity was defined by the earliest occurrence of obesity-related ICD-10 codes on two distinct claims. Adjusted hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals were estimated using Cox proportional hazards models.
RESULTS: Baseline demographic and clinical characteristics were balanced between participants and controls as assessed by standardized mean differences. INT participation was associated with a significant reduction in new-onset obesity compared to usual care, with 29.5% of INT and 40.4% of controls achieving the study endpoint over an average follow-up of 761 and 802 days respectively (aHR 0.66, CI 0.58-0.75). Cumulative event rates and risk reductions were comparable in subgroup analyses of baseline GLP-1 users (aHR 0.64, CI 0.50-0.82) and non-users (aHR 0.67, CI 0.58-0.78.)
CONCLUSIONS: In a real-world population of adults with T2D, participation in a telehealth-delivered nutrition therapy program was associated with significantly reduced risk of new onset of obesity. These findings suggest that scalable, remotely delivered nutrition interventions may play an important role in obesity prevention among individuals with T2D.
METHODS: This retrospective cohort study used closed claims data from the Komodo Healthcare Map. INT participants were matched to adults receiving outpatient T2D management using a propensity score estimated on US region, payer type, and baseline comorbidities, with exact matching applied to age, sex, race, and baseline use of antidiabetes medications. The study endpoint of new-onset obesity was defined by the earliest occurrence of obesity-related ICD-10 codes on two distinct claims. Adjusted hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals were estimated using Cox proportional hazards models.
RESULTS: Baseline demographic and clinical characteristics were balanced between participants and controls as assessed by standardized mean differences. INT participation was associated with a significant reduction in new-onset obesity compared to usual care, with 29.5% of INT and 40.4% of controls achieving the study endpoint over an average follow-up of 761 and 802 days respectively (aHR 0.66, CI 0.58-0.75). Cumulative event rates and risk reductions were comparable in subgroup analyses of baseline GLP-1 users (aHR 0.64, CI 0.50-0.82) and non-users (aHR 0.67, CI 0.58-0.78.)
CONCLUSIONS: In a real-world population of adults with T2D, participation in a telehealth-delivered nutrition therapy program was associated with significantly reduced risk of new onset of obesity. These findings suggest that scalable, remotely delivered nutrition interventions may play an important role in obesity prevention among individuals with T2D.
Conference/Value in Health Info
2026-05, ISPOR 2026, Philadelphia, PA, USA
Value in Health, Volume 29, Issue S6
Code
HSD79
Topic
Health Service Delivery & Process of Care
Disease
SDC: Diabetes/Endocrine/Metabolic Disorders (including obesity), STA: Nutrition