ArticleJMIR mHealth and uHealth2023
Conversational Agents and Avatars for Cardiometabolic Risk Factors and Lifestyle-Related Behaviors: Scoping Review.
Article in JMIR mHealth and uHealth, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Interactive Conversational Agents to Improve Dietary Behaviors for Health Promotion: Mixed Systematic Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Pooled it
- Mapping behavior change techniques and health data combinations in virtual agents for chronic condition management: A systematic scoping review.PLOS digital health · 2026Article
- Digital Educational Strategies to Implement Evidence-Based Care for Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease.Current atherosclerosis reports · 2026Review
- Large Language Model-Based Agents for Physical Activity and Cognitive Training: Scoping Review.JMIR AI · 2026Review
- Involving End Users in Co-Designing Mobile Health Interventions for Hypertension Self-Management: Formative Study.JMIR formative research · 2026Article
- Human-Delivered Conversation Versus AI Chatbot Conversation in Increasing Heart Attack Knowledge in Women in the United States: Quasi-Experimental Studies.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Article
- Implementation of a Digital Health Intervention (CHAMP) for Self-Monitoring of Hypertension: Protocol for 3 Interlinked Implementation Studies.JMIR research protocols · 2025Article
- AI HeartBot to Increase Women's Awareness and Knowledge of Heart Attacks: Nonrandomized, Quasi-Experimental Study.JMIR cardio · 2025Article
- The value of diabetes technology enabled coaching (DTEC) to support remission evaluation of medical interventions in T2D: Patient and health coach perspectives.PLOS digital health · 2025Article
- Evaluating the Potential and Pitfalls of AI-Powered Conversational Agents as Humanlike Virtual Health Carers in the Remote Management of Noncommunicable Diseases: Scoping Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2024Article
- The Effect of a Program to Improve Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet on Cardiometabolic Parameters in 7034 Spanish Workers.Nutrients · 2024Article
- Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundIn recent years, there has been a rise in the use of conversational agents for lifestyle medicine, in particular for weight-related behaviors and cardiometabolic risk factors. Little is known about the effectiveness and acceptability of and engagement with conversational and virtual agents as well as the applicability of these agents for metabolic syndrome risk factors such as an unhealthy dietary intake, physical inactivity, diabetes, and hypertension.
objectiveThis review aimed to get a greater understanding of the virtual agents that have been developed for cardiometabolic risk factors and to review their effectiveness.
methodsA systematic review of PubMed and MEDLINE was conducted to review conversational agents for cardiometabolic risk factors, including chatbots and embodied avatars.
resultsA total of 50 studies were identified. Overall, chatbots and avatars appear to have the potential to improve weight-related behaviors such as dietary intake and physical activity. There were limited studies on hypertension and diabetes. Patients seemed interested in using chatbots and avatars for modifying cardiometabolic risk factors, and adherence was acceptable across the studies, except for studies of virtual agents for diabetes. However, there is a need for randomized controlled trials to confirm this finding. As there were only a few clinical trials, more research is needed to confirm whether conversational coaches may assist with cardiovascular disease and diabetes, and physical activity.
conclusionsConversational coaches may regulate cardiometabolic risk factors; however, quality trials are needed to expand the evidence base. A future chatbot could be tailored to metabolic syndrome specifically, targeting all the areas covered in the literature, which would be novel.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.