Background Traditional lifestyle interventions have shown limited success in improving diabetes-related outcomes. Digital interventions with continuously available support and personalized educational content may offer unique advantages for self-management and glycemic control. Objective In this study, we evaluated changes in glycemic control among participants with type 2 diabetes who enrolled in a digital diabetes management program. Methods The study employed a single-arm, retrospective design. A total of 950 participants with a hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) baseline value of at least 7.0% enrolled in the Vida Health Diabetes Management Program. The intervention included one-to-one remote sessions with a Vida provider and structured lessons and tools related to diabetes management. HbA1c was the primary outcome measure. Of the 950 participants, 258 (27.2%) had a follow-up HbA1c completed at least 90 days from program start. Paired t tests were used to evaluate changes in HbA1c between baseline and follow-up. Additionally, a cluster-robust multiple regression analysis was employed to evaluate the relationship between high and low program usage and HbA1c change. A repeated measures analysis of variance was used to evaluate the difference in HbA1c as a function of the measurement period (ie, pre-Vida enrollment, baseline, and postenrollment follow-up). Results We observed a significant reduction in HbA1c of –0.81 points between baseline (mean 8.68, SD 1.7) and follow-up (mean 7.88, SD 1.46; t257=7.71; P<.001). Among participants considered high risk (baseline HbA1c≥8), there was an average reduction of –1.44 points between baseline (mean 9.73, SD 1.68) and follow-up (mean 8.29, SD 1.64; t139=9.14; P<.001). Additionally, average follow-up HbA1c (mean 7.82, SD 1.41) was significantly lower than pre-enrollment HbA1c (mean 8.12, SD 1.46; F2, 210=22.90; P<.001) There was also significant effect of program usage on HbA1c change (β=–.60; P<.001) such that high usage was associated with a greater decrease in HbA1c (mean –1.02, SD 1.60) compared to low usage (mean –.61, SD 1.72). Conclusions The present study revealed clinically meaningful improvements in glycemic control among participants enrolled in a digital diabetes management intervention. Higher program usage was associated with greater improvements in HbA1c. The findings of the present study suggest that a digital health intervention may represent an accessible, scalable, and effective solution to diabetes management and improved HbA1c. The study was limited by a nonrandomized, observational design and limited postenrollment follow-up data.

Background Some guidelines state that in-person weight management interventions are more efficacious than those delivered digitally. However, digital programs are more scalable and accessible. We hypothesized that one-on-one health coaching via app-based video chat would simulate an in-person experience and help achieve outcomes comparable to those of in-person interventions. Methods A 12-month digital weight management intervention was provided to overweight or obese adults recruited from a large technology company. One-on-one health coaching sessions were offered during a 24-week intensive phase as well as subsequent maintenance phase. Focused on sustainable changes in activity and diet, the intervention incorporates SMART goals, in-app food and activity logs, Fitbit integration, as well as optional sleep and stress modules. Self-Determination Theory and the Transtheoretical Model are incorporated to drive behavior change. Multilevel mixed-effects models were used to analyze weight changes retrospectively. Results Six hundred eighty-three participants reported 29,051 weights. At 12 months, mean percent changes in body weight were-7.2% and-7.6% for overweight and obese groups, respectively. A weight change of-5% is commonly targeted for in-person weight management interventions. Observed weight loss exceeded this target by 2.2% (95% CI, 0.7% to 3.8%; P < .01) for the overweight group and 2.6% (95% CI, 1.4% to 3.9%; P < .01) for the obese group. Conclusions Further research is needed with randomization to in-person or digital interventions. Though limited by an observational, retrospective design, preliminary results suggest that some digital weight management programs with one-on-one coaching may achieve outcomes comparable to those of robust, in-person interventions.

Background Digital mental health interventions offer a scalable solution that reduces barriers to seeking care for clinical depression and anxiety. Objective We aimed to examine the effectiveness of a 12-week therapist supported, app-based cognitive behavioral therapy program in improving symptoms of depression and anxiety within 9 months. Methods A total of 323 participants with mild to moderately severe depression or anxiety were enrolled in a 12-week digital cognitive behavior therapy program. The analysis was restricted to participants who provided at least one follow-up assessment after baseline. As a result, 146 participants (45.2%) were included in the analysis—74 (50.7%) participants completed assessments at 3 months, 31 participants (21.2%) completed assessments at 6 months, and 21 participants (14.4%) completed assessments at 9 months. The program included structured lessons and tools (ie, exercises and practices) as well as one-on-one weekly video counseling sessions with a licensed therapist for 12 weeks and monthly check-in sessions for 1 year. The clinically validated Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-8) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7) were used to assess depression and anxiety, respectively. Linear mixed-effects modeling was employed to examine changes in depression and anxiety over time. Results We observed a significant positive effect of program time on improvement in depression (β=–0.12, P<.001) and anxiety scores (β=–0.10, P<.001). At the end of the 12-week intervention, we observed an average reduction of 3.76 points (95% CI –4.76 to –2.76) in PHQ-8 scores. Further reductions in depression were seen at program month 6 (4.75-point reduction, 95% CI –6.61 to –2.88) and program month 9 (6.42-point reduction, 95% CI –8.66 to –6.55, P<.001). A similar pattern of improvement emerged for anxiety, with a 3.17-point reduction at the end of the 12-week intervention (95% CI –4.21 to –2.13). These improvements were maintained at program month 6 (4.87-point reduction, 95% CI –6.85 to –2.87) and program month 9 (5.19-point, 95% –6.85 to 4.81). In addition, greater program engagement during the first 12 weeks predicted a greater reduction in depression (β=–0.29, P<.001) Conclusions The results suggest that digital interventions can support sustained and clinically meaningful improvements in depression and anxiety. Furthermore, it appears that strong initial digital mental health intervention engagement may facilitate this effect. However, the study was limited by postintervention participant attrition as well as the retrospective observational study design.

Background Digital mental health interventions have shown promise in reducing barriers to effective care for depression. Depression and related mental disorders are known to be highly comorbid with common chronic physical conditions, such as obesity and type 2 diabetes. While some research has explored the interaction dynamics of treating populations living with both mental and physical disorders, very little is known about such dynamics in digital care. Objective We aimed to examine the effectiveness of a 12-week, therapist-supported, app-based cognitive behavioral therapy program in improving symptoms of depression and anxiety. The studied population included adults with a heavy burden of chronic physical disease, including obesity and type 2 diabetes. Methods A total of 1512 participants with at least moderate depression were enrolled. The treatment cohort consisted of 831 (54.96%) participants who completed a follow-up assessment. The program included structured lessons and tools (ie, exercises and practices) and offered one-on-one weekly video counseling sessions with a licensed therapist for 12 weeks and monthly sessions thereafter. The clinically validated 8-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-8) and the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale (GAD-7) were used to assess depression and anxiety, respectively. Linear mixed-effects modeling was employed to examine changes in depression and anxiety over time. Given correlation among various measures of program usage, a composite variable for depth of usage was used to analyze the correlation between usage and changes in depressive symptoms. Body weight changes from baseline were assessed primarily with digitally connected scales. Results Out of 831 participants in the treatment cohort, 74.5% (n=619) showed a clinically significant reduction in depressive symptom severity after 12 weeks, where follow-up PHQ-8 scores had shifted downward by at least one diagnostic category. In total, 67.5% (n=561) of the participants showed a reliable improvement in PHQ-8 scores as measured by the reliable change index. There was an average reduction of 5.9 (SD 5.2) points (P<.001) between baseline and follow-up. Greater program usage was correlated with greater likelihood of reliable improvement in depressive symptoms (odds ratio 1.3, 95% CI 1.1-1.5; P=.002). An exploratory analysis of body weight changes with a multilevel, mixed-effect model suggested that reliable improvement in depressive symptoms at follow-up was associated with significantly greater weight loss at 9 months (β=–1.11, P=.002). Conclusions The results provide further support that digital interventions can support clinically meaningful improvements in depression. Some form of synergy in treatment of comorbid depression and obesity or diabetes could be studied in future research. The study was limited by postintervention participant attrition as well as the retrospective observational study design.

Background As the need for effective scalable interventions for mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety, and stress has grown, the digital delivery of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) has gained interest as a promising intervention in this domain. Objective This study aims to evaluate the changes in perceived stress following a 10-week digital MBSR program that combined an app-based digital program with weekly one-on-one remote sessions with a health coach. Methods This study used a retrospective, observational design. A total of 229 participants with moderate-to-high perceived stress scores as assessed by the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS)-10 enrolled in the 10-week Vida Health MBSR program. The program included weekly remote sessions with a certified health coach and digital content based on concepts fundamental to mindfulness practice. The PSS-10 was used to evaluate perceived stress. Of the 229 participants, 131 (57.2%) were considered program completers and provided at least one follow-up PSS-10. A secondary analysis examined the changes in stress scores at 6 months. This analysis was restricted to participants who had been enrolled in the program for at least 6 months (n=121). To account for random and fixed effects, linear mixed effects modeling was used to assess changes in stress scores over time. An intention-to-treat approach was used to evaluate the changes in perceived stress across the entire study cohort, including those who were lost to follow-up. In addition, a reliable change index was computed to evaluate the changes in scores from the baseline. Results The findings revealed a significant positive association between program time and stress reduction (B=−0.365; P<.001) at 12 weeks. We observed an average reduction in stress scores of 3.17 points (95% CI −3.93 to −2.44) by program week 6 and 4.86 points (95% CI −5.86 to −3.85) by program week 12. Overall, 83.2% (109/131) of participants showed a reduction in stress scores by week 12, with 40.5% (53/131) of participants showing reliable improvement at 12 weeks and 47.8% (56/131) of participants showing a shift to a lower stress level category (ie, moderate-to-low stress). The intention-to-treat analysis revealed a significant, although attenuated, reduction in stress scores at 12 weeks (B=−0.23; P<.001). Participants who completed more lessons had an increased likelihood of moving down at least one stress level category (odds ratio 1.512, 95% CI 1.056 to 2.166; P=.02). In assessing medium-term outcomes, among participants who had completed at least 6 months in the program, 48.8% (59/121) of members provided a 6-month assessment. We observed a significant reduction in stress scores at 6 months (t58=10.24; P<.001), with 61% (36/59) of participants showing reliable improvement. Conclusions The findings of this retrospective, observational study suggest that a blended, digital mindfulness-based intervention may support program uptake and meaningful, sustained reduction in stress outcomes.

Background The prevalence of diabetes remains high, with traditional lifestyle interventions demonstrating limited success in improving diabetes-related outcomes, particularly among individuals with diabetes-related mental health comorbidities. Digital health interventions provide the ability to ease the sustained and rigorous self-management needs associated with diabetes care and treatment. Current interventions though, are plagued by small sample sizes, underpowered pilot studies, and immense heterogeneity in program intervention, duration, and measured outcomes. Objective Therefore, this work aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a mobile health diabetes management program on measures of glycemic control in a high-risk population with type 2 diabetes (hemoglobin A1c [HbA1c] ≥8.0%), utilizing a sample of 1128 participants who provided baseline and follow-up data. The sustainability of this change in glycemic control was examined in a subset of participants (n=455) at 6 months and 1 year following program enrollment. A secondary analysis examined changes in glycemic control among a subset of participants with self-reported mild-to-moderate depression at baseline. Methods This study utilized a single-arm, retrospective design. Participants were enrolled in the Vida Health Diabetes Management Program. This app-based intervention utilized one-on-one remote sessions with a health coach, registered dietitian nutritionist, and/or a certified diabetes care and education specialist and structured lessons and tools related to diabetes management and self-care. Participants provided baseline (–365 to 21 days of program enrollment) as well as follow-up (at least 90 days following program enrollment) HbA1c values. Paired t tests were used to evaluate changes in HbA1c between baseline and follow-up time points. The 8-item Patient Health Questionnaire and the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale were utilized to assess self-reported depressive and anxiety symptoms, respectively. Paired t tests and linear regression modeling accounting for pertinent covariates were used to evaluate changes in mental health symptom acuity and their relationship with changes in glycemic control. Results We observed a significant decrease in HbA1c of –1.35 points between baseline (mean 9.84, SD 1.64) and follow-up (mean 8.48, SD 1.77; t=22.56, P<.001) among this large, high-risk sample. This decrease was sustained up to 1 year following program enrollment. Additionally, a significant relationship between improvements in depressive symptom acuity and improvements in HbA1c was observed (β=–0.74, P=.03). Conclusions This study demonstrates clinically meaningful improvements in glycemic control among participants enrolled in the Vida Health Diabetes Management Program. Additionally, this work presents one of the largest studied samples of participants enrolled in a digital health diabetes management program to date.

BACKGROUND Digital mental health interventions have shown promise in reducing barriers to effective care for depression. OBJECTIVE We aimed to examine the effectiveness of a 12-week, therapist supported, app-based cognitive behavioral therapy program in improving symptoms of depression and anxiety in an adult population with a heavy burden of chronic physical disease including obesity and type 2 diabetes. METHODS A total of 1512 participants with at least moderate depression were enrolled. The treatment cohort consisted of 831 participants who completed a follow-up assessment. The program included structured lessons and tools (ie, exercises and practices) and offered one-on-one weekly video counseling sessions with a licensed therapist for 12 weeks and monthly sessions thereafter. The clinically validated Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-8) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7) were used to assess depression and anxiety, respectively. Linear mixed-effects modeling was employed to examine changes in depression and anxiety over time. Given correlation among various measures of program usage, a composite variable for depth of usage was used to analyze the correlation between usage and changes in depressive symptoms. Bodyweight changes from baseline were assessed primarily with digitally connected scales. RESULTS 74.5% (619/831) of participants in the treatment cohort showed a clinically significant reduction in depressive symptom severity in 12 weeks where follow-up PHQ-8 scores had shifted downwards by at least one diagnostic category. 67.5% (561/831) showed a reliable improvement in PHQ-8 scores as measured by the reliable change index. There was an average reduction of 5.9 points (SD=5.2, P<0.001) between baseline and follow-up. Greater program usage was correlated with greater likelihood of reliable improvement in depressive symptoms (OR=1.3, 95% CI: 1.1–1.5, P=0.002). Exploratory analysis of bodyweight changes with a multilevel, mixed-effect model suggested that reliable improvement in depressive symptoms at follow-up was associated with significantly greater weight loss at 9 months (B=–1.11, P=0.002). CONCLUSIONS The results provide further support that digital interventions can support clinically meaningful improvements in depression. Some form of synergy in treatment of comorbid depression and obesity or diabetes could be studied in future research. The study was limited by post-intervention participant attrition as well as the retrospective observational study design.

BACKGROUND Digital health intervention (DHI) is a scalable solution that reduces barriers to seeking care for clinical depression and anxiety. OBJECTIVE In the present study, we examined the effectiveness of a 12-week therapist supported, app-based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) program in improving symptoms of depression and anxiety within 9 months. METHODS 136 participants with mild to moderately severe depression and/or anxiety at baseline were enrolled in a 12-week digital CBT program. The program included structured lessons and tools (i.e., exercises and practices) as well as one-on-one weekly counseling sessions with a licensed therapist for 12 weeks and monthly check-in sessions for 1 year. The clinically validated Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-8) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7) were used to assess depression and anxiety respectively. Linear mixed effects modeling (MLM) was employed to examine changes in depression and anxiety over time. RESULTS We observed a significant positive effect of program time on improvement in depression (ꞵ = -.12, P < 0.001) and anxiety scores (ꞵ = -.10, P < 0.001. At the end of the 12-week program intervention, we observed an average reduction of 3.76 points (95% CI -4.76 to -2.76) in PHQ-8 scores. Further reductions in depression were seen at program month 6 (4.75-point reduction, 95% CI -6.61 to -2.88) and by program month 9 (6.42-point reduction, 95% CI -8.66 to -6.55, P < .001). A similar pattern of improvement emerged for anxiety, with a 3.17-point reduction at the end of the 12-week intensive phase (95% CI -4.21 to -2.13). These improvements were maintained at program month 6 (4.87-point reduction, 95% CI -6.85 to -2.87) and at program month 9 (5.19-point, 95% -6.85 to 4.81). In addition, greater program engagement during in the first 12-weeks predicted greater reductions in depression (ꞵ = -.29, P < 0.001) CONCLUSIONS The results demonstrate that digital interventions can foster sustained and clinically meaningful improvements in depression and anxiety. Furthermore, it appears that strong, initial DMHI engagement may facilitate this effect. However, the study is limited by post-intervention participant attrition as well as a retrospective, observational study design.