Impact of different dietary approaches on glycemic control and cardiovascular risk factors in patients with type 2 diabetes: a protocol for a systematic review and network meta-analysis

BACKGROUND Dietary advice is one of the cornerstones in the management of type 2 diabetes mellitus. The American Diabetes Association recommended a hypocaloric diet for overweight or obese adults with type 2 diabetes in order to induce weight loss. However, there is limited evidence on the optimal approaches to control hyperglycemia in type 2 diabetes patients. The aim of the present study is to assess the comparative efficacy of different dietary approaches on glycemic control and blood lipids in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus in a systematic review including a standard pairwise and network meta-analysis of randomized trials. METHODS AND DESIGN We will conduct searches in Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) on the Cochrane Library, PubMed (from 1966), and Google Scholar. Citations, abstracts, and relevant papers will be screened for eligibility by two reviewers independently. Randomized controlled trials (with a control group or randomized trials with at least two intervention groups) will be included if they meet the following criteria: (1) include type 2 diabetes mellitus, (2) include patients aged ≥18 years, (3) include dietary intervention (different type of diets: e.g., Mediterranean dietary pattern, low-carbohydrate diet, low-fat diet, vegetarian diet, high protein diet); either hypo, iso-caloric, or ad libitum diets, (4) minimum intervention period of 12 weeks. For each outcome measure of interest, random effects pairwise and network meta-analyses will be performed in order to determine the pooled relative effect of each intervention relative to every other intervention in terms of the post-intervention values (or mean differences between the changes from baseline value scores). Subgroup analyses are planned for study length, sample size, age, and sex. DISCUSSION This systematic review will synthesize the available evidence on the comparative efficacy of different dietary approaches in the management of glycosylated hemoglobin (primary outcome), fasting glucose, and cardiovascular risk factors in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients. The results of the present network meta-analysis will influence evidence-based treatment decisions since it will be fundamental for based recommendations in the management of type 2 diabetes. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION PROSPERO 42016047464.