Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39456281›Full record

ReviewFoods (Basel, Switzerland)2024

Is a Meta-Analysis of Clinical Trial Outcomes for Ketogenic Diets Justifiable? A Critical Assessment Based on Systematic Research.

Nicole Hunter, László Czina, Edit Murányi, Balázs Németh, Tímea Varjas, Katalin Szendi

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Foods (Basel, Switzerland), 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Review
  3. Article
  4. Food Choice, Nutrition, and Public Health.Foods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Nicole HunterDepartment of Public Health Medicine, Medical School, University of Pécs, 7624 Pécs, Hungary.
László CzinaMTA-PTE Lendület "Momentum" Evidence in Medicine Research Group, Department of Public Health Medicine, Medical School, University of Pécs, 7624 Pécs, Hungary.
Edit MurányiDepartment of Public Health Medicine, Medical School, University of Pécs, 7624 Pécs, Hungary.ORCID 0009-0004-6663-3748
Balázs NémethDepartment of Public Health Medicine, Medical School, University of Pécs, 7624 Pécs, Hungary.
Tímea VarjasDepartment of Public Health Medicine, Medical School, University of Pécs, 7624 Pécs, Hungary.ORCID 0000-0002-4950-0669
Katalin SzendiDepartment of Public Health Medicine, Medical School, University of Pécs, 7624 Pécs, Hungary.ORCID 0000-0003-1689-964X

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

While the macronutrient content of a ketogenic diet specifically utilized for childhood epilepsy is clearly defined in the literature, variations among other ketogenic diets exhibit substantial heterogeneity. Furthermore, studies utilizing ketogenic diets contain several confounders with notable impacts on outcomes, thereby rendering both their findings and those of the meta-analyses less reliable. The objective of this meta-epidemiological assessment was to scrutinize existing clinical trials that investigated the effects of ketogenic diets on patients with obesity and diabetes, thereby determining the feasibility of conducting a meta-analysis. The Ovid Medline, Scopus, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), and Embase databases were searched from 1946 to 24 September 2024. Of the studies reviewed, none met the predefined inclusion criteria. However, seven articles met these criteria very closely. In the future, studies investigating the effects of ketogenic diets containing significant confounding factors should adopt a single definition of a ketogenic diet. Additionally, accurate measurement of actual macronutrient and caloric intake, along with regularly monitored nutritional ketosis, will be essential to highlight the true effects of a ketogenic diet.

Indexed as

clinical trialketogenic dietmeta-epidemiological assessmentnutritional ketosisreviewsystematic search

Identifiers

PMID39456281
PMCPMC11506855

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.